A Walk In Andante
by shirozora
Summary: Some things seemed so certain. Wherever you go, I'm always with you. But when Time changes, so do we. We may never meet again but we'll never forget each other. I'm sorry, Sora. I met him. DISCONTINUED
1. The Struggle

**A Note from the Author:** I felt I had to restart _A Walk In Andante_ because I looked back on what I had written so far and realized that it was not going the way I had intended for it to go. Henceforth I am rewriting every chapter and continuing it.

If you don't understand what this story's about, it is basically a canon story that takes a radical turn due to some unnoticed meddling. What meddling, you say? Well, you must read on to see for yourself.

**Copyrights:** The characters belong to Square-Enix and Disney. The storyline is indefinitely mine. That is definitely copyrighted.

**Disclaimer:** Being dragged into Twilight Town is one thing. Being reunited with Sora is another. But when Kairi becomes acquainted with a mysterious teenager who refuses to explain his past, she begins a chain of events that unravels and reworks Destiny in ways nobody can understand. Nobody.

**A Walk In Andante**

**1 – The Struggle**

Her heart pounded. It beat rapidly in her chest, pounded painfully against her breast, echoed in her ear as she tried desperately to ignore the screaming protest of her muscles and lower herself slightly. She winced again as she tensed the aching muscles, tried to hide the show of pain as she readied herself for another attack. Her sweaty hands clutched the blue bat tightly and she prayed desperately that the bat wouldn't slide out of her grip if she ever had the need to swing it. She bit her lip hard, felt iron flood her mouth, as she watched it circle her slowly. It wasn't the only thing frightening her. There were others – she had seen a whole horde of them descend on the gathering – all around her, readying themselves for an ambush she knew she could never survive.

Why did this have to happen? One moment she was standing on the sidelines with Olette and Pence, cheering Hayner on as he battled with Setzer for the prize in the tournament he had entered, and the next thing she knew people were screaming and scattering as Heartless – _Heartless_ – appeared from the shadows around them and launched themselves in the crowd. Within minutes the area had been cleared of all people except the ones most deeply involved in this danger, this evil: Hayner, Olette, Pence, and the Princess of Heart herself – Kairi.

_But Sora made sure no Heartless would get in! There wouldn't be any more Heartless in this town!_ Kairi thought desperately as she took an unsteady step back. The NeoShadow cocked its head to the side, its yellow eyes watching her steadily. Emotionless. Cold. Dangerous. Evil. _No more Heartless, no more Nobodies, no more Organization…but how did the Heartless come back? Me? Is it because of me? Why now? Why now!_

She let her eyes swivel to her right, to Hayner who was barely holding onto his own. He was swinging the blue bat wearily in his hands; the teenager was a mess, marked by scars and blood from the battle. Olette and Pence stood at the sidelines, apparently scared out of their wits. She knew they never had any experience physically hurting things; like her, they had never fought before. But no longer. Kairi had learned her lesson. But that was Lesson One. Lesson Two was…

_This time…I'll fight._

How she regretted that promise now. Nobody told her it would be this dangerous, this frightening, this…risky. But then again, nobody told her she would be pursued by so many people, by so many strangers, allies and enemies, all because she had a pure heart.

A pure heart…

Sweat trickled down her face, leaving her feeling uncomfortably sticky. She quickly wiped her forehead with her arm, then grasped the blue bat again, hoping the NeoShadow hadn't made a move. Her limbs shook, aching with pain, while her lungs screamed for air. And her mind, it couldn't take it anymore; she was pushing it to its limits, demanding that it tell her when something was going to attack her, how she should move, where she should move, and make a billion other decisions as it should.

Her mind has never dealt with danger like this before. It couldn't handle it. Would never handle it. It was upsetting her mind.

"Pence, do something!" Olette was screaming. Kairi felt no resentment towards the dark-haired girl for not trying to fight. She couldn't; Kairi was like her, long ago. Only difference was that Kairi could never forgive herself for being the way she was back then. Weak. Pathetic. So amiable. So dismissive. So submissive. She had hated herself then, and still hated herself now.

_This time…I'll fight_.

"I know," she muttered. She wiped her bottom lip with her tongue, tasted dilute iron and salt. "I thought it was easy, and I'm paying the price now."

Whoever calls her weak again will never survive the meeting.

"I don't know what to do! What the hell do I do?" Pence yelled back. He was just as scared shitless as Olette. Kairi couldn't blame him either. To be honest, she doubt the portly teenager could fight. He also didn't have the attitude for it, not like Hayner.

"Hit the thing with the camera!"

Pence always had a camera, always taking pictures. He said he took pictures to keep memories.

"What, are you crazy?"

"Right now I am! Don't be stupid, Pence! Do something-Kairi!"

Stop daydreaming, Kai! Look out!

The NeoShadow leaped. Kairi lashed out at its outstretched claws, thought she saw blood dripping from the pointy ends. Her muscles screamed, her heart strained, her lungs clenched, and her mind nearly crumbled from fear as she clobbered at the Heartless and it was thrown back onto the Struggle Tournament stage. Kairi felt her arms drop until the bat hit the floor, stared at the NeoShadow as she took deep painful gasps. She turned her head slightly, wearily, to watch Hayner smash at another Heartless and turn it into black smoke and a red heart. A second NeoShadow done with. But there were so many more. Kairi had done nothing more than wear down Heartless; Hayner had only killed two. And there really were so many. And nobody else was there to help her. To help them.

_Sora? Sora, where are you? Help me. We need help!_

Begging wasn't going to help. She and Hayner and Olette and Pence were alone in this. They were the only ones facing the Heartless.

Wasn't there anybody else out there?

_Help me!_

Something resounded deep within her but she ignored the answer to her desperate call. She wasn't going to get any help. She was going to have to fight with only Hayner to help her, until Olette and Pence found the courage within themselves to join and fight.

"Kairi!"

A warning! Kairi tried to turn but it was too late; something stabbed into her back. She cried out at the shock, struggled with the icy feeling. She turned back and forth, tried to shake off the fiend clutching at her back.

"Hayner!" she screamed. "Hayner, get it off! Get it off, please! Hayner! Hay-no!"

Her voice caught in her throat as the blond teenager crashed to the floor. The Heartless that knocked him over skidded to a stop, then turned around to glare at him. Kairi clenched her teeth. She'll get this perpetrator off her back and run over and smash that Heartless into itty bitty bits-

Kairi gagged, choked as she felt her airway constrict. A shocking cold started spreading from her back down her body and through her arms. She tried to move the bat, only to find herself staring dumbly as the blue bat slid out of her numb fingers and clatter to the floor. She tried to move, tried to get her arms moving but they felt like logs, like someone had tied lead weights to them. And her legs, she couldn't feel them. Were they even there? Where they-something was moving deep inside her. It was searching, seeking, seeking…her heart.

Olette leaped onto the stage and snatched the blue bat. She was shaking – it was so visible, but she set her mouth in a thin line and took a step towards the Heartless. Pence was scrambling up behind her, his face paper-white.

Kairi opened her mouth, tried to warn against meeting Heartless head on, but nothing came out. Only air and even then, not a lot. She felt nothing, only found the ground rising up to meet her. Her numbing mind could only guess that her legs had given way.

Another source of cold. The Heartless had pushed its other arm into her back. Now it was groping inside her, searching for her heart. She closed her eyes tightly, squeezed out one hot tear that slid down her cold face as she felt her body turn number. It got to the point that the cold no longer burned; she could no longer feel it nor the world around her. She couldn't even feel herself breathing.

Screams. Shouts. They were all long, all extended, dragged out, as though sound had slowed down. Everything slowed down. She blinked slowly, saw trails of images before her. There were more bats than before, and she had been using only one.

A sharp flicker of pain. The Heartless was nearing her heart. She could tell. For some reason it was taking time for the Heartless to find it, but then she could sense it, barely. Walls. There were things barricading her heart from the NeoShadow. But what?

_Is Sora protecting me in more ways than one?_

Another hot tear. Another flicker of pain. The NeoShadow was getting closer. Olette and Pence stood over Hayner's unconscious body. The NeoShadows stood around them in a loose ring, staring at them.

_I'm so sorry, Sora. I tried my best, I tried to fight them off…but it's too hard. I can't fight. I can never fight. I'm sorry Sora. Forgive me. Goodbye._

She closed her eyes. It would be over soon. She could tell. A buzzing was filling her ears, settling in her mind. A cold fog. Everywhere was cold. She wished it would come soon, the end, so she could escape the cold, escape the pain, the dread, the doom and despair, and head for the light. For haven. For sanctuary.

_Please let it be over with. Cold. It's so cold…_

A high silver song of metal in the wind. A wind that came out of nowhere. Sudden light. Whatever had plunged into her was suddenly pulled out and in the sluggish chill she could feel a pulse. Her heart. With each beat, each pulse, blood coursed through her cold arteries. With each thump, warming blood spread through her limbs. It was starting to get warm. Her senses were beginning to come back. She could feel the ground with her bare knees. Kairi blinked. Her sluggish, obscured vision was clearing. All her senses were coming back to reality. She closed her eyes tightly, then opened them again. She found herself staring gray shoes. Dark gray. Light gray. And red straps. Bright red straps.

_Red…how pretty…_

Her mind was slow in picking itself up. She was still in a stupor. Still dazed, she lifted a trembling hand and reached out to touch the red color. Suddenly the shoes were gone. Olette was screaming.

"Yes!" That was Pence! Yes what? What happened?

Kairi tried to jerk her head up and see for herself but at the slightest movement blood flooded her head and she became dizzy. Kairi closed her eyes tightly, tried to steady her breathing, then tried to lift her head up again.

The world swam. She pressed her hand against her left temple, waited for the vertigo to pass. Then she looked up again.

Heartless. They were all exploding, one by one, into black clouds and red hearts. Probably like the one that was on her back, the one destroyed by someone with shoes that had red straps on them. The clouds were dissolving in the wind and the red hearts were drifting up into the twilit sky. Through her shifting gaze and the tipsy-turvy perspective, she saw someone burst through the black clouds. A person. A person dancing among the NeoShadows, whose numbers were rapidly decreasing. One by one they were being obliterated. Who was killing them? Sora could wipe them out. King Mickey could kill them. Donald and Goofy had the necessary weapons. Hayner, for all his inexperience, could use the bat when his life depended on it. Who else was there who could destroy the Heartless…like Sora could?

Because that was how Sora fought.

There were only a handful of NeoShadows now, and they were all trying to get away. Their plans had been overturned by this rogue, by this complete stranger, by this nameless somebody, and now they were scrambling all over each other, trying to get back to the shadows and to the hell from where they came from. But they wouldn't make it. They would never make it.

The stranger stopped only momentarily, pausing where Olette and Pence were trying to get Hayner to sit up. Words seemed to pass between them, then the stranger was off again with a vengeance. Kairi blinked slowly; did they know each other?

There were sudden, brilliant flashes of white and black. Then the Heartless were gone. Every last one of them. And her heart was still with her.

She leaned over, rested her palms against the ground. She felt her arms tremble and bit her lip at the watery feeling in her limbs. She ordered her body to cooperate and slowly pushed herself off the ground. She nearly fell over; the world rocked under her feet like a ship in rough waters. She looked down at herself briefly, saw red scrapes on her knees, but couldn't even feel the pain. She was numb all over. She took a slight step forward and whimpered as her legs gave way and she fell back onto the ground. Everything seemed to sway; she closed her eyes tightly, clenched her teeth, and waited for the dizziness to pass. Then she tried again.

Kairi felt pinpricks of pain in her muscles, wondered if this was the sensation one had when trying to regain feeling in a foot that fell asleep. The deathly chill remained, though. She could feel just enough to know how numb she felt. She had water for joints. Kairi closed her eyes in anticipation of another bout of vertigo and forced herself to rise; she sensed wisps of cold fingers reaching deep inside her, to her heart. It was a horrid taint, one that she wished would just go away. She felt dirty.

Kairi had never been so directly attacked before. This time the Heartless were too close, much too close for comfort.

_They would have taken my heart away,_ she thought numbly, _and Sora wouldn't be here to save me. If that-that person hadn't come, we'd…we'd be…I'd be…gone forever-_

"Hey."

In the cold recesses of her mind there was an echo. A series of echoes. Suddenly she was aware she wasn't standing steady. Swaying back and forth, locking her knees together, trying to stand. Kairi opened her eyes slowly, just a crack, then opened them wider. There was a shadow in front of her, overlapping onto her. Someone was standing in front of her, someone with gray shoes and red straps. Kairi gasped, looked up into the face of the savior. Her savior.

At that moment, the world shook violently, then swam out of focus as her legs gave way and the numbness overwhelmed her in a rush. The world darkened. She barely sensed herself fall, couldn't tell which way she was falling. For all she knew she could be falling up, or sideways, or even diagonal. She didn't know.

As her eyes eased shut against her attempts to stay awake and face her savior, she felt arms go around her waist to catch her. Then the numbness seemed to dissolve. She felt warmth, felt herself pressed up against something warm and soft and safe, as voices mumbled all around her, stating meaningless words and utter gibberish. Then the fog of sleep sank into her as the cold continued to melt against the warmth. Everything faded away.

Everything except clear sky blue eyes, piercing her mind, all at once solemn, serious, and full of sorrow. She had seen those eyes before, had seen them since forever, but the swirling shifting blending mesh of emotions were not what she expected in those eyes. Not the pain. Not the sorrow. Not the utter cold emptiness.

She knew those eyes. But this was not Sora.

_Who are you?_

**An Endnote:** I know I've been updating a lot recently but I felt the need to unload as much as possible as my weekend is packed with nothing abut school. Currently only three stories are not on hiatus; every other story is shelved until further notice. Review, please? Give my Himitsu Project a second chance, will ya?


	2. Whispers of Resemblance

**Author's Note:** It seems I needed a sense of direction in order to get things going. It's like you have an itching to do something but you don't know what to do. No matter; like _Kingdom Hearts: Secrets of Memories_, the Himitsu Project is my big thing.

**Copyrights**: The characters belong to Square-Enix and Disney. Elements of this fiction comes from the actual Kingdom Hearts II game, although I don't have the actual game as my parents are hiding it from me and thinking they're that slick, but I hope I don't spoil anything. The storyline is indefinitely mine.

**Disclaimer:** The Himitsu Project is the child of my rage over Kingdom Hearts II. I am in no way bashing this game. You'll eventually understand.

**A Walk In Andante**

**2 – Whispers of Resemblance**

"…that was so…he'd kill us for sure…"

"…safe here…if he comes back…then what?"

"…she's not…tonight…"

"…are you crazy?"

"…sensible…you're the…idiot…"

"…stop arguing…or I'll-"

"Don't you dare!"

"…sorry, sorry…"

"Are you…"

"…keep things simple…rest of the night…meet tomorrow…"

"…okay, okay, fine! But, are you sure about this?"

"Hayner…"

Shuffling in the distance. A creak. Slide of hinges. The click of a lock. A door closed. Then another creaking sound. Footsteps. Then…silence. In the distance, a train whistled, and a bell began its mournful bellow. A change in time. The bell tower. A soft fresh breeze across her face. It caressed her, then tickled her.

She turned her head slightly, felt the pillow her head was resting on. The numbness was almost gone. She could feel her heart – could hear her heart – beating steadily. Beating, beating, beating, beating…. She tested her mobility, ordered her right foot to move and felt it twitch slightly. Someone had taken off her shoes; she could feel the blanket rub against her toe. The blanket, it was so warm. She shifted slightly, pulled it closer to her, wished she could never feel cold again, not like the cold she felt when it…when it plunged its hand into her. She shuddered.

Some memories were best left untouched.

She had been sleeping an endless, dreamless sleep, and now she had to wake up. She knew she had to. There was no escaping life no matter how much she just wanted to sleep and hide. Reality asked for her to awaken.

Involuntarily her hand twitched, brushed against the blanket. Her fingertips touched soft fabric. Warmth. Someone had moved her inside. But to where?

With the thoughts came a buzzing. There was a strange fuzziness in her mind, outlining her thoughts. Was it just the sleep or was it something else?

_Cold, utter cold, utter darkness…_

She moaned softly at the horrid feeling, tried to push it away. She turned her head, felt the breeze stronger. The cool air rushed into her lungs and the fuzziness began to blend into clarity. She opened her eyelids, just a bit, and saw a deep dark red wall. She opened her eyes a little more and saw the ends of lavender curtains. A window. She turned her head slightly and saw a big window defined by two wood-framed windowpanes; one of the doors was flung outwards and a fresh cold breeze was coming in.

She tilted her head slightly and looked up at the rosy red ceiling. A blue glow danced across it. Where did the light come from? She looked at it curiously, wonderingly; it reminded her of the sun's reflection on the sea's surface.

_Home…_

Her stomach twisted slightly and she curled inward into a fetal position. Thinking about home gave her an odd feeling, a pang of longing. She couldn't understand it, didn't know what it was she was feeling. She looked at the blue light once more, then turned her head back towards the wall, just enough to see sunset shining through the window.

Then bells began to ring. She closed her eyes, listened as they counted out the time.

…_9…10…11…_

Eleven. Then she remembered that the skies of Twilight Town were always twilit, no matter what the time.

_Strange…_

A train whistled in the distance, a piercing shrill that pierced the tranquility. And in the silence that followed, she heard her own breathing, air escaping her lungs at regular intervals. she focused on the breathing, felt herself drift away again. The warmth was so soothing, and the breeze was clearing her mind-thirsty. Kairi blinked. She was thirsty, terribly thirsty. Did ordeals like hers leave her this-

She caught her breath, froze under the blanket. She could be imagining things, or maybe she wasn't, but she was suddenly aware of another presence in the room. Was sure there was somebody else here. Who could it be? Her senses were tingling, vibrating on end; a slow chill raced up and down her spine. Why was she feeling this? Was she just imagining things or was it the person in the same room as she that was causing her to feel this?

_Blue eyes, so full of sorrow, grace, pain, and longing…she felt so touched, felt so hurt by them…but those weren't Sora's eyes…they were someone else's…_

"Hey."

A voice, whispery soft, hung in the air before dissolving into the night wind. She shivered, pulled the blanket tighter around herself. There was something odd about the voice, some intangible thing that made her curious of its origins but frightened at the same time, frightened of what she would find, who this person could be. She fixed her eyes on the open window and the twilit sky, focusing her ears on another whistle from another train passing through these parts of Twilight Town. Was it coming or going, and in which way?

"You okay?"

Kairi didn't know whether to answer or not. There was a kindness in the voice, a sense of caring that left her heart trembling. She tried to ignore it, ignore the voice, try not to answer-

"Maybe," she heard herself whispering.

Something shifted behind her, near the bed, and she felt her throat clench with fear. Vulnerable; she felt exposed. Then the voice spoke and she felt her fears dissipate instantly.

"Do you want anything?"

_Sora…_

He wasn't here. He had gone somewhere, with Donald and Goofy, in search of Riku. And what of King Mickey, that mysterious mouse king? And where were Hayner, Olette, and Pence? Where had they gone? Why did they leave her with someone she didn't know? Did they turn her over to this-this stranger, thinking this person would protect her where they hadn't? Wait…was this the person who saved her?

"Water," came the scratchy, hoarse reply. Kairi winced inwardly at the horrid vibrations in her throat but it was dry and she needed something to drink. "Please…I'd like some water."

"Okay."

The floor creaked. She could hear something rise into the air, then slow sure footsteps drifted away. A door opened and closed. Kairi was left alone, left to her parched throat and the endless buzzing in her mind. A fly within her mind was nagging her with a question, a question that plagued her from the moment she became aware of the other person.

_Who are you?_

Distant footsteps. The door opened and closed again. The same slow sure footsteps drew near. She became aware again of the presence, the tingling in her nerves. She could feel the vibrations on her skin. In the silence, she could _feel_ the other person, contact or no.

This had never happened before. Never in her lifetime, until now.

"Here."

Kairi sighed inwardly when she realized she was forcing herself to face a physical test of sorts. She pulled her arms towards her, then tried to push herself up. Her arms – still aching from that battle that seemed so long ago – shook violently and she nearly fell back down. She grew bitterly angry though, at her weakness, and forced herself to sit up. But once she did, she nearly fell back down again when the world started spinning. She moaned, pressed the palm of her hand against her left temple and closed her eyes tightly to stop the spinning. She felt so dizzy and lightheaded it hurt.

Kairi felt herself freeze up as an arm went around her shoulders and pulled her slightly to the right, until her bare arm pressed in against fabric and warmth. To her bewilderment, she felt her face heat up as she became aware of the person's breathing, a soft intake and exhale of air. Slowly she let her hand drop onto her lap as the dizziness faded. But she felt tempted to press her hand against her heart; it was beating much faster than she liked, much too fast. Why?

"Are you feeling alright?" It was that voice again, gentle and full of concern, brushing against her ear. It was a soothing sound, easing her heart's rapid tempo to a slower, gentler beat.

_Who are you? What are you doing to me?_

She nodded slowly, took a deep breath, and opened her eyes.

At first she saw outlines, silhouettes glowing in a faint bluish light. She looked at them curiously, wondering where the light came from. Then slowly her sight adapted to the darkness and she saw well-defined shapes, the bed she was on, with the rest of her underneath the sheet, the walls, shelves cluttered with tossed-about trinkets, the far door, the open window, and…and…

She looked down at the pale hand resting on the bed near her. Slowly she followed it up to a lean arm, to a white sleeve and its black edge, to the shoulder with a checkered stripe, to the red collar of the jacket, to a silver cross dangling from the zipper of the dark shirt, to a…to a face she knew well and couldn't recognize at all.

Deep blue eyes watched her steadily, beckoning her into its endless depths. She felt drawn into the windows of an endless, eternal sea, thought she could see the dark blue waves frothing with mystery and the surface shimmering with an impenetrable wall of enigma. If she were to dive into the waters, what would she find?

Emotions enveloped her, a solemn sorrow, and she felt something opening up in her, an outpouring of compassion and care to counter the despair wrought in those eyes. Taints of hope, locked in traces of melancholy…

Years were passing into eternity when she finally dragged her eyes away from them, and studied the face watching hers. She found a slender face, with a slightly pointy chin, a long narrow nose, high cheekbones, and a mouth with a small pout, more pronounced by the sad line gracing it. Her eyes noticed pale blond bangs swaying over the eyes, then looked up at a mess of short wild hair that stood up in pointed spikes to the right side of the head. She looked at the hair curiously, felt a stir of familiarity, but no, she couldn't recognize the hair style, nor this person, at all. And yet, she felt like she knew this person. It was a peculiar feeling, and she felt quite lost.

But those eyes…her eyes were pulled back into them, the blue gaze steadfast. Something was tugging at her mind and her heart, as if the eyes were somehow nudging her onto a path through this maze of confusion and twisting emotions. A path that led to-

_You look like Sora._

But Sora wasn't here. He had left her in the care of Hayner, Olette, and Pence, while he went off with King Mickey, Donald, and Goofy in search of their friend Riku. King Mickey had said that he was far away, and that it would be difficult finding him. Sora couldn't be back yet.

_You aren't Sora. Who are you? Why do you look like him?_

A night wind reached through the open window and wrapped its chill around her. She ducked her head and pressed against the person, seeking warmth. And she felt the arm pulling her towards the person as well, until the cold vanished. For a long moment she held that position, feeling herself relax but she soon became aware of a pulse in her ear, a rapid, irregular beat. Her senses were heightened; she became aware of the rise of fall of the person's chest, of the person's light breathing, and turned her head away. She was blushing. Her hand crumpled up part of the blanket as she willed herself to calm down.

"Who…" Her voice failed, the words caught in her throat. The question buzzed endlessly, unspoken and torturous. She wanted to know but she couldn't ask; every time she tried her voice failed on her. Coupled with her reckless heartbeat and her panicked breathing, she felt she was going out of control.

But then the arm slid off her shoulder and while she gave a start as cold air licked at her bare arms, a glass of water appeared before her. She stared at it, blinked rather stupidly, then noticed the two rings n the index and middle finger, black and white, and the checkered wristband. It was only moments later that she remembered she had asked for some water.

Flushing with embarrassment, she willed herself to take the glass. She bit her lip when her hands shook but she clutched the orange-hued glass tightly in her hands and raised it to her mouth. Within seconds, Kairi drained the glass and closed her eyes as she felt wet fire slide down her throat and into her stomach, where it simmered coldly for a few pleasurable seconds. A sigh escaped her lips then, and she opened her eyes quickly, darting to the face with embarrassment. She was met with an inquisitive gaze, neither prying nor apathetic, and felt ashamed at her reaction.

Then the glass was slid out of her grip and she clasped her hands tightly, studying the interwoven weave of her fingers. To her dismay she could not stop her hands from shaking. She didn't know if it was the cold or that mysterious presence, but she wanted it to stop. Then pale hands enveloped them, held them tightly, exuding an exquisite warmth that left her feeling sky high on an emotion she couldn't identify with. She had never experienced it, never felt this way before.

Kairi waited until her hands no longer shook, then looked up at the face. Perhaps she could ask the question now.

_Who are you?_

She opened her mouth.

"You…look like someone…"

He did. He looked like Sora. But Sora had no sibling, no lost twin brother. He was himself. Sora.

Then who was this person?

The person studied her with those brilliant blue eyes. She felt naked, imagined those eyes piercing her and peering into her heart, her soul. She shifted uncomfortably but waited with some patience for the answer.

The answer came, slow, hesitant, and yet somewhat precise. "We could have met before…although I cannot say I am that someone…that someone you identify me with."

A smile crept onto her face. "Well…you do."

The smile grew faint as silence wore on, then she dared to ask.

"Who are you?"

She felt the person start, sensed a level of discomfort within him. Now she was the one watching him with curiosity, wondering what was going through his mind. Did she say something wrong?

"Not…a lot of people…" He stopped, then started again. "My…my name is…it's Roxas."

_Roxas_…_what a strange name…_

He sounded frightfully nervous now, and looked the part, too. His face was turning a light shade of scarlet and he kept shifting. He clearly didn't like the question. Kairi slowly slid out her left hand and placed it on top of his. Roxas looked at her, quite startled, then settled down.

"…sorry about that…"

It was strange. He looked like Sora, but he was a total stranger, and yet she felt drawn to him. Shouldn't she be repulsed, feel a certain lack of…of connectivity? And yet…and yet there was something strange and intangible about him. She couldn't put her finger to it, but it was there. A certain attraction.

It was frightening. Kairi nearly pulled her hand away but ordered herself to stay put, wait for Roxas to say more. He clearly did have more to say than he let on; he chose his words much too carefully to let it be his manner of speech.

"It's…okay, I guess," she mumbled as she watched her hand take upon a life of its own and trace slow circles on the back of his hand. "I didn't mean to pry…if it made you uncomfortable…or anything…"

Why couldn't she talk in complete sentences, for crying out loud!

"You…deserved to know…"

_Deserved?_ Kairi looked at him curiously, saw that his eyes were fixed on a point in the sky out the window.

"Deserved…to know? To know what?"

A soft breeze. She stared at him, at his profile, wondered at the angles and the curves, and the faraway look ins his eyes. They really did seem endless in depth now, and she wasn't even looking into them. His bangs fluttered over his eyes and she felt her stomach twist. Kairi tried to look elsewhere, but failed. Miserably.

"My name." Roxas looked right at her. "You deserve to know my name."

A shiver. There was something going on here, a shift in the distance. Something was happening outside of her control.

"…but I don't…don't even know you…"

The answer came, whisper soft. She wasn't sure if she heard him right.

"…if only you knew…"

She decided not to press the matter. Her senses were taking her in an entirely different direction now; she felt with her fingertips the smoothness of the back of his hand, the taut muscles lying underneath the pale skin. She let her fingers slide over the hand, wondered if there was any way she could learn more about him from touch.

_For some reason that just sounds really wrong…_

"You fight…"

Roxas nodded. "I've been in…some Struggle Tournaments, if that's what you're saying."

She shook her head, refused to let memories of the most recent tournament stain the peace in her mind. "No…not the tournaments. You fight…in other ways. Did you…"

She had to know. She had to know now. This was the one who saved her, right?

Roxas looked at her blankly. He looked…like a little lost child. She felt like smiling, but suppressed it quickly. It was not the right time nor place to smile.

"…did you…kill…destroy the Heartless?"

Recognition. Understanding. How could she read him so easily?

"Yes."

It was short, succinct, and yet added to the mystery surrounding him.

"How-"

He shook his head. "Not now. You should…you should rest. Today wasn't the greatest of days for anybody here, especially you. Let's…talk about this later."

Kairi sighed, felt disappointed. "If you say so…"

She waited for him to pull away, get up, and leave, but he didn't. He sat there, let her continue drawing random shapeless shapes on the back of his hand, watched her-she knew he was watching her-as she kept her eyes fixed more on the checkered design on of his wristband than on his hand. Or his face, for that matter.

_His name is Roxas, he knows Hayner, Orette, and Pence, and he saved me from the Heartless. But how? How does he know them? How did he fight the Heartless? And where did he come from? Why does he look like Sora so much? Why do you…look like him?_

"…_Sora_…" It escaped her lips in a sigh.

Suddenly he pulled away. She felt her heart sink, felt like she was pushing him away from her. Should she? Kairi felt so oddly torn, like she had to push him away for the sake of her relationship with Sora, but she wanted Roxas to stay…with her. She wanted to know more about him. She wanted to know everything about him.

But he didn't leave. Instead he stood up, pushed back the stool he was sitting on, then sat on the bed, in a hunched, depressed posture. She felt slight pressure on her right leg from his weight, the mattress shifting to accommodate to his weight. Kairi watched him carefully, wondered what he was doing.

"Who is…Sora?" He seemed to choke out the name.

Kairi didn't mince a lot of words. "A close friend in my heart. He's one of my two best friends, and he promised to come back to me…after he finds our other best friend. We met…but he hasn't come back yet. He hasn't come back until he's brought Riku with him…"

Riku…where was he? Did Sora find him? Were they coming to her now?

"Promised…to come back to you?" He sounded like he didn't believe it. Kairi didn't know whether to be insulted or somewhat understanding. He didn't seem familiar with the concepts of promises, it appeared to her.

"Yes…it is what binds us together…our hearts together…" Kairi whispered, now more to herself than to Roxas, who was now very pale and visibly uncomfortable. She didn't notice, really. "It's the promises that hold us…oaths taken, oaths to keep…I said I'd wait until he came back…but I couldn't wait forever. It was…too painful-"

"You really didn't deserve this," he interrupted abruptly. Kairi turned her head to look at him, to face the misery dripping from his mouth. "You didn't deserve any of this. None of you…should make such a promise that's so hard to keep."

"That's not-"

"But to be ignorant…" And now the world was standing on his shoulders. "To be ignorant…is another thing. You didn't deserve this…the war, but…to be ignorant of it is far worse. To be ignorant in any manner…is the worst of all things."

He sounded regretful. Painfully regretful. She leaned closer, reached out, placed a hand on his shoulder.

"What happened, Roxas?"

He didn't answer. His eyes were fixed on a spot on the floor.

"Roxas-"

"I've done things I regret now. Know things I wish I didn't know. And how I feel…you wouldn't understand." He stood up, pulled away from her hand, and she let it drop onto the bed. "No, you wouldn't. Nobody would. Nobody can."

"Well, maybe if you'll just talk about it…" _I'm a Princess of Heart. I'm sure I can understand to some degree…and help you_-

He shook his head again. When he spoke, steel ran through his words. "No. You wouldn't understand. I've done things I regret now, but there are some things I haven't been aware of until now that I'll regret forever. Even if I didn't choose to make it happen. Go to sleep, Kairi. You need the rest."

Roxas went to the door, opened it, then closed it behind him a bit forcefully, leaving Kairi hanging in the air. She felt shocked and utterly hurt. Her heart pounded heavily in her chest. There was a melancholy in his voice, a deep, dark pain that he was trying to hide. It was so obvious, she thought. It was so obvious that he was suffering and yet unwilling to face it. Or was he simply unwilling to talk about it? Perhaps he knew about it but the burden was bearing down on him. Maybe that's why he spoke to her that way, about those things. He didn't look at ease as he spoke, and from his manner, knew he hadn't spoke about this to many people, if at all.

"I don't…I don't understand, Roxas," she whispered sadly. "What's hurting you?"

Tomorrow, perhaps. She'll have to ask him about it tomorrow…if she was given the chance.

She looked at her hands, then nearly jumped in surprise. Then curiosity overcame her and she stared at the thing in her hands. She held it up before the window and turned it around in her fingers.

A gift, perhaps? She wasn't sure. But she knew it wasn't left there by accident. Rings really weren't all that easy to lose.

_Is he giving this to me? We don't even know each other…so why?_

Why?

She sighed, then slid the white ring onto the index finger of her left hand. All at once some of the weight that was hanging in her heart vanished. She studied the ring, felt at ease. Was this ring enchanted? Or was she overreacting to it? But why the peace? Why the calm?

Or maybe it was that she knew it was his that made her heart feel more peaceful. But what did that mean?

_I won't go there, I won't_.

Kairi sighed, didn't remove the ring, but studied it. It was simple, white, made of an unrecognizable material. She twisted it around her finger, then smiled. She'll wear it for now, and then ask him about it later.

She took a deep breath, exhaled slowly, then slowly lay back down on the bed, pulling the blanket up to her chin. She stared up at the ceiling, heard the bell tower's solemn chime. After a whimsical rhyme, it tolled once, then fell silent.

One in the morning. She should sleep.

Under the blanket she continued to twist the ring around her finger. Peace spread throughout her, easing her transition to sleep…she couldn't tell. She turned her head slightly, took a deep breath, then felt herself drift away. But somehow, before sleep did overtake her, she caught the whiff of a scent, something faint but instantly recognizable.

Him. He was everywhere.

And she didn't mind at all.

_Who are you, Roxas? Tell me…how you knew my name._

She had never given it to him.

**Author's Endnote:** It'll be a wonder if I'll end up working on any story other than this. Within the next several months I will be working on a fanart of this fanfiction, if anyone's interested. And this story, really, is dedicated to fans and writers of crack couplings. Cracks in canon settings are nightmares. Period. Review, pwettiful pwease!


	3. Precursors

**Author's Note:** Well I went and researched Kingdom Hearts II, for lack of better words. What I find interesting is the mix of joy and disappointment in this game, which disappoints me in turn because this obviously means that a sequel has once again failed to live up to the original. Anyways, the story's about to get complicated. You'll see.

**Copyrights:** The characters and settings are copyrighted property of Square-Enix and Disney. The storyline is of my creation. Let's see you try and imitate this.

**Disclaimers:** Today's my birthday so I'm giving you a gift, as is the custom of the Hobbits in the Shire. This is the gift. Enjoy?

**A Walk In Andante**

**3 - Precursors**

"A _dance club_! Why the hell a _dance club_!"

"Hey, you said I get to pick next time! You picked the Struggle Tournament and a whole lot of good that did! You and Kairi nearly got killed! If Roxas hadn't come-"

There Olette went, talking about Roxas again. Hayner grumbled, ran a hand over his head as he continued to pace around and around in the small hideaway near the alley. She was always talking about Roxas. He was sure of it.

"But how'd he just turn up like that?" Pence muttered as he fiddled with his black camera. He was sitting on one of the boxes in the hideaway, quite at ease with his surroundings. But his voice betrayed his suspicions. "The timing was perfect. Too perfect."

"Oh you're just being a suspicious worrywart," Orette declared. "We should take her to a dance club. I'm sure she'll enjoy it."

"I won't," Hayner said. "I don't dance."

"Besides the Chicken Dance," Pence interjected. "I understand, Hayner, that the Chicken Dance won't attract a great many women but if you tried, say, that one John Travolta move-"

Hayner flushed. "Shut up! I am NOT going to a dance club and I am certainly NOT going to use that John Travolta move! And _no_, I'm not looking for some chicks to dig!"

This last line he added quickly, for a devilish look at come across Pence's face. Olette sighed, twisted a lock of wavy brunette hair around her finger, then decided on something.

"What's taking them so long?"

Already she seemed to regret asking. Pence may have looked devilish already over Hayner's loud protests, but now he looked like the devil himself. Hayner winced and Orette clapped a hand over her mouth.

"Maybe they're taking so long because…they're getting to know one another," the black-haired boy suggested darkly. Olette nearly burst out laughing. Not only did Pence look so funny uttering the line, but the line itself was the cheesiest thing she had ever heard.

But Hayner was worried nonetheless. A mighty strange suggestion, sure, but it was still a possibility. A very…disturbing possibility.

"What, a one-night stand?" he blurted out.

Olette burst out laughing. She sat right down on the floor, laughing until tears came rolling down her face. Both Hayner and Pence looked at her, astonished. Then they looked at each other.

"What did I do!" Pence hissed desperately. Neither of them expected this sort of reaction from her.

"A lot of things, stupid!" Hayner snapped back. Now they had no choice but to wait for her to get it out of her system. It would be awkward, standing around while the teenage girl continued laughing hysterically but within minutes both boys began grimacing. And not because of her laughter.

"Pence, you are disgusting," Hayner finally declared. That's it! He couldn't force ideas nor images out of his mind, no matter how sick or disgustingly creative his mind got. His brain was far too creative for its own good. Hayner just wished he could run his head through the nearest building and snuff himself out of his misery.

"Shut up," the other boy said lamely. "I didn't mean it."

Pence then took to fiddling with his camera. But it didn't take long for worry to bloom on his face. Orette hadn't stop laughing and neither Roxas nor Kairi had appeared.

"Maybe we _should_ go check on them…" Pence said quietly.

A horrid image began blossoming and drawing and coloring in Hayner's mind and he began to think of a hundred and one murderous ways of torturing Pence for suggesting such a thing when someone all three of them knew quite well cleared his throat.

"Did I miss something?"

Olette stopped laughing.

"Roxas!" she exclaimed and waved madly.

Hayner and Pence sighed.

"I must have missed something, then," Roxas decided as he entered the hideaway, Kairi following him. She was studying the three curiously; Olette was sitting on the ground smiling much too cheerfully, Hayner's face was incredibly red, and Pence looked like either he was having the time of his life or something utterly amusing and disgusting had crossed his mind. She couldn't figure out what was worse.

"Well, you didn't miss much depending on what you mean," Hayner said, slinging a friendly arm around Roxas's shoulder. "I mean, you were only gone for some months, right? Care to tell us where the hell you been?"

Pence, who had suddenly noticed the attentive look on Kairi's face, began to smirk. Olette took the cue and, after getting to her feet and brushing her pants off, sauntered over to Kairi and gently nudged her to the side. Kairi looked at her, surprised, but soon quailed under the other girl's grin.

"So…"

That tone…did not sound good. Something was on her mind.

"So…what?" Kairi asked very, very slowly and carefully.

"What was he like?"

Kairi stared at her blankly for a good minute before it dawned on her.

"We-we didn't do anything!" she yelled, blushing furiously. "What are you thinking?"

"Well, you can blame him for suggesting it," Olette said calmly and with glee, pointing in Pence's direction. "If I can procure a blue bat, you have my permission to go whack the lights out of him."

Somehow it came to Kairi that Pence must've said something that caused Orette to laugh and Hayner to get all flustered and furious.

"Olette!" she exclaimed, turning on the brunette. "What did he say!"

"Not a lot…" Olette said thoughtfully. "But sometimes, a few words can paint a thousand images…okay, forget I ever said that, sorry."

Kairi kept staring at her. _They've got to be joking. We didn't do anything!_

"But let's forget about that for the moment!" Olette said happily. "We've decided to take you to the Freaky Planet-"

"What? Who said 'we'?" Hayner exploded. "We never agreed to it! _You_ agreed to it!"

"Hayner, its two to one," Pence pointed out. "Your call."

"We've got five," Hayner retorted, gesturing to Roxas and then to Kairi. "Well, actually its four. Ask Roxas, then! If it's a tie, we'll ask Kairi. But remember, I never agreed to a dance club-"

"A dance club?" Kairi blurted out at the same time Roxas asked it.

"It's a night club," Olette said calmly. "Freaky Planet's the safest. There's music, lights, the beat, people, dancing, lots of dancing, lots of pretty lights, drinks, cute guys, awesome songs-"

"We're not going just because you want to check some guy's ass, Olette," Hayner said plainly. "As for me, I say nay."

"I say yea," Pence chimed in. "It's cool how it rhymes…"

Finding all eyes on him, the black-haired teenager turned around and continued fiddling with his camera.

"I suggested it so I don't have to say which side I'm on," Olette said amiably, then looked at Roxas, who suddenly looked like he wished he was elsewhere. "What about you?"

Kairi watched him. What kind of person was he? Whatever he chose to do would tell her what kind of person he was. Would he say a flat-out 'No', and force her to choose, or would he say yes to something called a 'dance club'?

Roxas shook his head slowly. "You people make it too hard."

"What does that mean?" Hayner demanded. He sounded desperate. "Please tell me you're not agreeing with them!"

Roxas shrugged again. "Well…I don't dance."

_He's making me choose._

Olette and Pence glared at him, and Hayner looked triumphant, but Roxas interrupted them by saying, "But I'm dissenting to both parties. Olette and Pence can go to the Freaky Planet. Hayner can do his own thing, whatever that is-" Hayner glared at the sarcasm "-but I…"

He drifted off, seemed to be studying the ground thoughtfully, but Kairi realized that his eyes were on her. She shivered, rubbed at her arm. Why was he looking at her that way? It was like he was passing onto her a secret message…or he was just watching her, wanted to watch her without anybody noticing.

"But what?" The others hadn't suspected a thing.

"I want to…" Roxas kept hesitating, irritating an already irritated Hayner further.

"Spit it out, dammit!" he finally snapped.

Roxas looked up at him with a raised eyebrow. "What happened to you?"

Olette giggled and elbowed Hayner. "Pence gave him some stuff to think on."

Roxas then looked at Pence, who still seemed busy fixing his camera. "What did you do to him?"

"Nothing! I swear I wasn't doing anything…to him, that is…"

Then Roxas turned to Hayner and Olette. "I want to show Kairi Twilight Town. Some places, maybe. I don't know…I just want to…show her around."

Pence stopped fiddling with his camera.

''

"If I know Hayner, he'd be stalking us," Roxas said thoughtfully as they walked down the street adjacent to the alley where the hideaway was. "He's really got nothing to do, other than mess around on the Struggle Tournament court. But usually he does it with me, just to make sure Seifer and his crew don't jump us."

_Seifer? Who's that?_ Kairi thought curiously as they crossed a street and continued down towards somewhere. Kairi had been shown a lot of the major places by Sora, Hayner, Orette, and Pence, but perhaps Roxas was taking her to the places they missed.

_And that Axel fellow was no help, either_, she thought sourly, suddenly reminded of that weird man with red hair and the black coat who showed her the way out of Destiny Islands by dumping her in Twilight Town.

"What are you thinking about?" Roxas asked, amused by what was no doubt a scowl on her face.

"Nothing." He didn't need to know about Axel. It would just complicate a lot of things.

"So…how did you get here?" Roxas asked curiously as they turned a corner.

_What the hell? How'd he do that?_

That was what was exactly on her mind.

"I…" How to say this, how to say this… "Someone gave me a push off the Islands to go look for Sora…and I ended up here. The others, they said I walked right through a wall but I guess that's how portals work. I've been around a few days when Sora, Donald, Goofy, and King Mickey showed up-you don't know them, do you?"

She looked at Roxas. He had the most peculiar expression on her face, something between outrage and horror. She stopped walking and after he took a few more steps, he stopped walking, too.

"Did I say something wrong?"

Roxas shook his head slowly. "No, not really…and I think I've heard of them, actually. Your friend and his…companions, I suppose. Just never thought about remembering them because I didn't think I had to."

"Oh…" So Roxas did see them somewhere…run into them, perhaps? Just because you've seen someone before doesn't mean you know that person's name, right? Yeah, that's probably it.

The only problem was, she had a feeling he was hiding much more than what he was letting on. Like he did know them…but he wasn't saying anything about it.

"Where are we going again?" Kairi asked. She didn't recognize the place anymore.

"Well, I'd take you somewhere a bit far but Hayner's following us so I'll have to get you away from him in order to take you there," he admitted as he kept walking.

"Where's that?" Kairi asked, moving hurriedly to catch up to him. Was she imagining it or was he actually walking faster?

"Somewhere…" he mumbled. "Maybe I should've agreed to the dance club."

"Then let's go there," Kairi suggested. _This guy's really weird, acting all nervous over something. Are we really being followed or what?_ "Hey, what's the rush?"

She reached out and grabbed his left arm. Roxas slowed immediately. Kairi went further than that, however, and dug her heels into the ground, stopping both of them. He looked at her, puzzled.

"What's bothering you, Roxas?" Kairi asked softly. _If I can get to him, I can find out how he's connected to Sora and the others!_

Hearts can't hold secrets forever. Or pain. She could see it in his eyes.

"Nothing…" was his stoic yet faint reply. He didn't meet her eye, kept shifting from foot to the next.

"Oh don't give me that!" Kairi nearly snapped. She pulled him closer, practically yanked him to her. "Look, I don't even really know you, although you are familiar, but I want to help. You saved me from the Heartless the other day so I want to return the favor. What's bothering you, Roxas? I want to know. I want to help. So tell me!"

Silence. Frustration raged in her. Kairi shook as she kept a tight hold on his arm, wondered where the strength came from, the anger, the ability to speak as she did. Kairi a few days ago would have never exploded. Not even for Sora's sake. She wasn't even sure what she would have done if she found Sora in this brooding state. But Roxas…she really wanted to help him. Her heart beat heavily, wishing, wishing, wishing.

_Open up, Roxas. Speak._

Roxas looked at her. His blue gaze was unreadable. Her vice grip on his arm loosened.

"I don't want to talk about it, Kairi," he said quietly, calmly, with self-assurance. He didn't sound arrogant but he clearly believed his problems were trivial. "Not now, not here, not anywhere, not ever. I'm sorry if you feel the need to help me but you really don't owe me anything. You don't need to help me."

"Then why are you doing this?" Kairi whispered. She was feeling herself shake and locked her knees together to remain steady. "Why did you take me away from the others? Why are you taking me around Twilight Town?"

Roxas was silent again. He didn't look anywhere else, though. His eyes were fixed on her. They were watching her eyes. The color was cloudy and dark; she could see the pain and the misery and the regret, nothing more. Happiness. There was no happiness. No tiny glow, no ray of light in his blue eyes; they were horridly dim.

"Roxas," she said slowly when he didn't answer. "Roxas, why are you doing this? We don't even know each other."

He blinked once, quite intentionally, then looked away.

"I…I don't know-"

"Well, this is interesting! What a sight! Roxas actually found himself a girl!"

Kairi colored abruptly at the foreign voice and quickly turned around. She backed into Roxas in seconds, not expecting the company they suddenly had. In her shock she didn't feel his arm go around her waist, pulling her even further away from the tall teenager that was standing right next to her, with a weird black hat and the scar on his face. Behind him, she could see three others, a skinny solemn silver-haired girl, a tall stocky dark-haired boy, and a short little – what was it? – _thing_ with a huge wide-brimmed yellow wizard's hat and high collar hiding its face. The girl was emotionless but the tall boy had a rather brawny grin on his face. The little _thing_ did absolutely nothing.

"What do you want, Seifer?" Roxas hissed. Kairi then felt his arm around her waist, a slight comforting pressure, and knew she had flushed an even darker shade of red.

This was Seifer!

He was grinning darkly. "Not much other than to come to the poor girl's rescue from twerps, losers, cowards, and thieves, if you know what I mean."

Roxas took a step backwards, taking her with him. "Still after it? Still hanging on to the past like that? It's been months, Seifer. Let it go!"

"Not yet!" Seifer snapped, stepping forward. "One on one, you good-for-nothing jackass! I won't lose to a loser like you!"

_So much hatred…but why? What sort of rivalry was this?_

Kairi wondered what Roxas would say to this verbal attack. Then she became aware of his tense breathing, the strain in his lungs as he tried to control himself, his anger. He wasn't one to lash out on emotion, she thought, she knew. He's not reckless with his feelings. He was careful.

Maybe sometimes far too careful. Restrain that much, if one snaps…

"You-" Seifer was speaking to her! "-need to be more careful who to choose as your friend and who's not. This guy's got a criminal record. He and his friends have been stealing all over town. Bet you didn't know that."

Kairi found herself gaping at this scar-faced teenager. Where were the accusations coming from? Where'd he get the idea? To be honest she didn't know much about Roxas but she definitely knew a lot about his friends.

"They stole some words, they did, ya know!" the big guy in the back boomed. "Took them clean out of our vocabulary! Those meddlesome bastards-"

"Thieves," the silver-haired teenage girl said in hushed, flat tones. "A-"

Seifer raised a hand and they both fell silent. Kairi now found herself staring at the hand. It was such a simple gesture, yet the power behind it was unmistakable. Whatever this foursome was, the leader was clearly the one Roxas had called Seifer-

"Don't touch her!" she heard Roxas hiss past her ear but too late, she felt someone grab her wrist roughly and pull her away from him. She yelped and dug in her heels, then glared at Seifer, who was smiling.

_Jerk! Who does he think he is?_

"Just trying to save her from potential corruption is all," Seifer said quite lazily. "Isn't that right, Vivi?"

Vivi? Who was this 'Vivi'?

A yellow blob in the corner of her eye nodded. Kairi stared. It was that _thing_, that short little creature with the huge hat and all. Vivi?

"Corruption?" Roxas was confused, but anger was now edging his words. "Just let her go, Seifer! She's new here so she doesn't have to get involved in this!"

"If she's new, I want to make sure she hangs out with the right kind of people," Seifer retorted harshly. He tightened his grip on her wrist and she winced. Her hand was starting to feel bloated. He was cutting off her blood supply. The nerve of this jerk!

She looked at Roxas, had never seen him so mad before. SO mad and so…scared. Kairi found herself staring at him. She was sure of it. It was there, in his eyes, the way they kept shifting, the way he was biting his bottom lip, and that told her that he was scared about this situation. And then he looked at her, too, and she felt herself shiver.

"Just let her go, Seifer," Roxas said slowly, his voice trembling around the edges. "Stop making it bigger than you think it is."

"You know what?" Seifer was talking like he didn't even hear Roxas. "Why don't we ask this girl what she thinks, huh? What do you think? You sure you want to hang around with thieves and lawbreakers like him, or do you want to hang out with us? We make sure these bastards don't get away with things, you know. You'll learn quite a lot about right and wrong with us. You'll never learn anything with these-"

He was pissing her off. More than pissing her off. An emotion flooded her with reckless abandon, coloring her vision until it was painted over with hot, steaming red.

"Here's what I think," she hissed abruptly, cutting him off. Seifer looked at her, surprised. She could feel a lot of eyes on her, actually.

She yanked her arm out his grip and stomped in his foot, then when he started hopping on his other foot, cursing, she delivered the verdict to his boys.

"Firstly, don't call me 'girl'. I'm not a 'girl'! Secondly, don't touch me!" she snapped at Seifer, who doubled over in agonizing pain. "I never asked for your opinion on anything so go away!"

Kairi looked up, glared at the three others, who were gaping at her…and Hayner, who was peeking out from behind a building and apparently didn't realize she could see him.

_Roxas was right after all. Hayner is a stalker._

Then someone took her hand, took care to intertwine her fingers with his, then pulled her away quickly. Seifer cursed after her but Kairi only glared.

_I never asked for your opinion on anything. Don't even think about questioning my judgment. Leave me alone!_

She let Roxas drag her along for a block and a half, then stopped. She bent over, breathing hard; she practically had to run the block and a half. Twilight Town had huge city blocks. She wished she knew why.

"You didn't need to do that," she heard him say. Kairi looked up, shook her head slightly to get her bangs out of her eyes. "The problem with Seifer and his gang is that people listen to them. If you're labeled a thief, other people will think you're a thief. If he starts talking about how you attacked him, he'll change the story and label you a…well, we won't go there but he will."

"It's not like I live here," Kairi retorted. "Once I'm gone, they'll forget, won't they?"

Roxas shrugged, looked away, and sighed. "No use going around anymore. Let's go back to the clock tower, shall we?"

Kairi didn't mind at all.

"What are we going to do about Hayner, though?" she asked as he started up a different street. Kairi dodged some people; this was a busier area than the previous one.

"Lead him back to the tower," Roxas said. "Bore him to death, I guess, although he'll definitely have something to say about what you did to Seifer. But I have to tell you, that really was amazing. Not a lot of people would jump on him like that."

Kairi blushed with embarrassment. "Well, actually, I'd never do that to anyone. I don't know what came over me, but I don't attack people. It's not my nature."

"People do strange things when they're in strange situations," Roxas said quietly. "You'll never know…"

Kairi thought about that for a few minutes. In the process, she bumped into a tall woman wearing a long tight wine-red trench coat and a hat with an incredibly large brim.

"Sorry," she muttered. The hat turned towards her and under the brim, above the high collar, she saw deep violet sunglasses. They seemed to be tearing her into little pieces, searching for something. She shivered.

"Nothing to it," spoke the low rich voice, sensuous and purring. "Just watch yourself next time, will you?"

She nodded, felt her face heat up with embarrassment. But when she looked up, the person was gone.

Roxas had stopped walking. "What is it?"

Kairi stared blankly at where the woman was. Then she shook her head.

"Nothing…"

As she turned to follow Roxas back to the tower, though, she thought she saw someone in a black coat, leaning against a building, safely shrouded in the shadows.

Someone who looked a lot like Axel.

''

Of all the visitors Naminé had over the past year or so, the visitor standing before her now was the one she didn't expect at this hour. She looked up from her drawing pad when she sensed a disturbance and saw him standing at the table, tapping on its surface with his gloved fingers. Something was bothering the man. Not a lot of things bothered him. Unless it involved his best friend, Roxas.

Emptiness resonated within her. Axel had gone and lost his best friend, first through an identity crisis, then because of Sora. No doubt Axel thought he had no more purpose in this life, but why was he here? Why was he looking to Naminé for help?

"What do you want, Axel?" she asked carefully, laying her pencil down on her sketchbook and pushing it away. She sat back in her chair, waited for the older man to speak.

Axel looked distraught. He kept grimacing, twisting his face into strange frowns. His vibrant green eyes were restless, never staying in one spot for long. And the tapping on the table was annoying.

After a long moment, Axel spoke.

"I thought he was gone."

_Must be Roxas._

"He is," she replied carefully. She felt uncomfortable; she always did when talking about Roxas. Something about him made her feel strange, unnerved, and sympathetic. "Just like I'll be. You know that, Axel."

"No, that's not the point," Axel said, shaking his head. He pushed back the chair on the other side of the long white table and sat down. He leaned forward, resting his weight on his elbows. He kept tapping the table but Naminé found herself ignoring it. What Axel apparently had to say was far more important.

"Then what is? Roxas isn't going to come back, Axel. He already gave up his physical form. If you want to see Roxas, go find Sora and hope he doesn't kill you. He knows what you did to…to Kairi."

Speaking about her shadow always found a way to upset Naminé's voice and she ducked her head, sighing miserably.

"I don't give a crap what the Keyblade Wielder thinks," Axel snapped. "What I want to know is why Roxas is walking around Twilight Town in broad daylight! I thought he was gone! You said so yourself!"

Naminé stared at him. What!

"Axel, what are you talking about-"

"I was going to take Kairi with me elsewhere, but she wasn't where I thought she'd be. So I looked for her-smelled for her, actually-and I found her with him. Roxas. He's alive, Naminé, and he's walking around Twilight Town like nothing ever happened!"

She shook her head. Axel was hallucinating. "You could be mistaking him with his friend, Hayner-"

"I saw Hayner! He's stalking them! And there is nobody out there who looks like Roxas!"

"What about his smell? If he smells just like Sora, you could be seeing a twisted memory of Roxas's version of Sora's memories-"

"Listen to me, Naminé, and listen very carefully." Axel leaned even further across the table. "This was no memory. This was no dream. This was not my imagination. I am not hallucinating because I am not that crazy. Kairi isn't who she was last year; I saw her thrashing that boy Seifer. And she's with Roxas. I know Roxas anywhere and you know that as well as I. And that's not all."

His voice had been dropping slowly until it was a whisper. Naminé found herself leaning forward, found herself breathing sparsely and with anticipation. And bubbling with jealousy. Kairi was with Roxas-Roxas wasn't even supposed to be here! And with Axel speaking the way he is-

"Roxas doesn't smell like Sora. There's a difference. He's got his own scent. What do you think that means?"

Impossible. Naminé leaned back in her chair. "That's not possible."

"My nose does not lie. None of our noses lie."

That was true. But that was impossible.

"We are Nobodies," Naminé said carefully. "Xemnas, Roxas, and I share the same scents as DiZ, Sora, and Kairi. The rest of the Organization…the original people died long ago. You're only imitations of them."

"You do smell like Kairi," Axel agreed. "But I didn't make any mistakes. I didn't have a sinus infection, if that's what you're thinking. And I don't hallucinate. I don't do hallucinogens. I know what I'm smelling and what I'm smelling is that Roxas is here and Roxas is changed. He's not the one who joined with Sora. He's become a completely different person."

"Not completely. He doesn't have a heart."

Axel then fell silent. But Naminé knew the contemplative look on his face. Axel did think, and his thinking was sound.

"Kairi is a Princess of Heart."

"Yes."

"You do have a strong glow, like a shadow of hers."

"Thanks for mentioning."

"Her heart is pure and her light is very strong."

"What's your point, Axel?"

He made his point. And Naminé was thoroughly shocked by it.

"Kairi's doing something to him. If her light is strong and her heart that pure and powerful, don't you think she could give him something, something that he's desired, like the rest of us desired?"

"You think she can give him a heart!"

Axel leaned back in his chair. "Exactly. And that's not supposed to be happening."

Naminé nodded. Her mouth was set in a thin grim line as she picked up her pencil and drawing pad again.

"No, that's not. Roxas isn't supposed to be here. He's not supposed to physically exist anymore. Eventually, he'll cease to exist altogether. I'm sorry for saying this, Axel, but it's true. I just don't know what's going to happen the longer he stays around the Princess of Heart."

Axel nodded solemnly. Then he started tapping the surface of the table again. Naminé glared at him, then noticed the extremely serious look on the man's face. It was rather un-Axel-like, actually.

"Don't you think that someone's messing with us? I feel a hand tugging at things our strings are attached to. We aren't forced to do things because other things are being forced to happen, things that in turn force us to do things. They don't notice it, I guarantee it, but I can feel it."

He's said it just as she imagined it. Naminé nodded, sighed, then gave up drawing. He was right. Someone was toying with them.

"I can feel it, too."

**Author's Endnote:** Sometimes, I just really love using Axel and Naminé to further the plot because they seem so…able in that sense. What are they talking about? You'll see. Press the REVIEW button, please and thank you.

And there is a possible chance that this story and its proposed sequel may the last serious fanfictions I will write, as those two stories are my final tests before I begin an actual novel. Just letting you know if you were wondering about the fate of the other stories. Put down the tomatoes. Please.


	4. A Road to a Promise

**Author's Note:** Ah, gushing blood-oh, sorry. Well, I owe people this next chapter. I hope this version is better than the other version, and I hope you continue to read this story. After all, it's only the beginning.

**Copyrights:** The characters and settings are copyrighted by Square-Enix and Disney. The storyline is mine.

**Disclaimers:** For some of you readers – you know who you are – I hope this chapter makes up for what was in the first version. Well…almost makes up. Heh.

**A Walk In Andante**

**4 – A Road to a Promise**

Olette and Pence hadn't returned from their venture to the Freaky Planet. Kairi thought about it, the place and its name. Dance clubs were unheard of in her world and music…what kind of music? The Freaky Planet…what was it like? What a strange name…

"…daydreaming again?" It was Roxas.

She gave a start, then looked up at him. "Sorry about that-"

"No, there's nothing wrong with it. I'm just saying, you're daydreaming," Roxas explained as he moved to her side and sat down next to her. She caught herself taking a peek at him and quickly looked away, reprimanding herself in the process.

"I was just thinking…"

A strong breeze raked its long fingers through her hair and Kairi pulled the locks back, tucking them behind her ear.

"It's so windy up here," she said with a contented sigh. It was true; the wind at the top of the bell tower was brisk, cold, and incredibly refreshing. And the view was gorgeous. It was unlike anything she had ever seen before. Actually she thought that whenever she at up here with the Hayner, Olette, and Pence, but right now it looked absolutely beautiful. Beyond beautiful.

"Is it that bad?" Roxas asked.

"No, not really," she said with a smile. "It's wonderful, actually."

The sky was darkening. She knew it would never turn to night like back home at Destiny Islands but she knew when night was coming. The twilit sky was dimming.

"Sometimes," Roxas spoke slowly, quietly, "I realize just how lucky I am to live here. I've been to places…and nowhere was it as beautiful as Twilight Town."

Kairi opened her mouth to have her say but after second thoughts crossed her mind she closed it.

"When I open the window, and look out, sometimes I feel so peaceful, like nothing wrong could ever happen," the teenager continued. Pangs of pain were in his voice. Melancholy. Nostalgia. "I wish all my days were like that."

Kairi nodded, looked down at the street down below. She remembered the first time she was here and how paranoid she was of the edge. Who would save her if she fell?

_Who would catch me if I fall?_

But now she felt fearless. Height meant nothing to her now. Never did. She felt safe up here, at the edge of a building that soared above all others, even the factories and the skyscrapers in the distance. In this world, the clock tower dominated all. And she was unafraid of its height.

She held the edge tightly with her hands though, just in case. Another breeze. She closed her eyes, felt its coolness wash over her face and through her long red hair. It swirled around her like a river. It felt amazing.

Then through the refreshing chill she felt a slight pressure on her left hand, a pressure that brought warmth. She opened her eyes and looked down, saw his hand on top of hers. He was touching the white ring on her left index finger.

"It fits," she heard him say softly. "I thought we had larger hands than women but I guess either I'm the exception or you are."

He stroked the back of her hand, bringing with it the sensation of a chill separate from the growing night. Kairi swallowed nervously, then looked at Roxas. There was sadness in his face.

_Why is he always so sad?_

"Why did you leave me with this?" she asked. His other hand was resting on his lap. On his left index finger was the black ring. "I mean…I didn't really do anything for you…"

He shrugged. "I don't know…it just felt…I just thought I should. It seemed right. I mean, when you go back home, maybe you'll remember…Twilight Town…with the ring."

_Remember…memories. He's already thinking about the memories._

"I won't forget," Kairi heard herself say stubbornly, fiercely. How could she? Here she found a world so different from her home and yet a world so alike. And the friends she made. The surprise reunion with Sora. And…"I'll never, ever forget."

But the look on his face spoke differently. And she could only wonder why.

''

She was dreaming about Sora. She had been for months, hearing his voice, seeing him, but his face was always fuzzy, obscured, and she could not remember his name. But this time there was a face. There was a name. Sora.

In this dream they were back on the shores of Destiny Islands, looking out to the sea. It was much like the times when they watched the sunset together years ago. Except they were older, battle-worn, weary of the war.

He looked at her and she smiled. He always made her smile. And her heart beat with joy. He was home.

"_I'll come back to you. I promise."_

"_I know you will."_

Promises…

Footsteps in the sand, coming out of the sea. Sora was watching the sunset, the twilit sky, but Kairi's eyes were drawn to the impressions in the wet sand. Her eyes followed the trail to somewhere behind her, where the footsteps vanished in the wake of the dry, sifting sand. She saw someone.

Kairi turned around completely, was utterly shocked to see Roxas there. He was staring up at the sky. She wondered what he was looking at, then looked up, too.

Shooting stars. Three brilliant blue-white streaks in the twilit sky.

"_Beautiful"_, she whispered in the dreamscape.

"_Kairi."_

Someone was calling her name. It wasn't Sora. It wasn't Roxas, either. And although she didn't remember how Riku sounded like, she knew it wasn't his voice. The voice was feminine. A girl.

She followed the voice, turned towards Paopu Island, and gave a start when she found herself looking into the face of a carbon copy of herself-no, not herself. But someone who looked very similar to her, if not slightly younger. Her blonde bangs swept over her forehead, shrouding her left eye. The eye that was visible was brilliantly blue but full of heavy sorrow.

Like Roxas.

She was slender, appeared frail. She was clothed in a simple white dress and she wore sandals. Her arms were at her side, hanging loosely. Oddly, Kairi expected her to be holding something.

"_Are you…talking to me?_" Kairi asked.

"_Kairi._" It was the girl. Her lips were moving._ "Take care. It would be wise for you to take a step back and assess the situation. Remember the promise. You cannot forget."_

"_I won't,"_ Kairi retorted. Why won't anyone believe her? _"Who are you?"_

"_That is irrelevant. I am not here to identify myself. I am here to warn you."_

"_Warn me?"_

"_The heart remembers what the mind forgets. Sometimes what the mind remembers the heart doesn't match with its own memories. But if you change the heart's memories, you will affect more than your mind. You are connected to so many; whatever happens in your heart happens to them. But…"_

And Kairi noticed that her gaze had moved from her to beyond her. Kairi turned around, saw Sora staring across the sea, Roxas watching the sky.

"…_you have no choice. You know what should be, what must be. If you know the truth, you will understand the knife's edge you stand balanced on."_

"_Why are you telling me this? I don't know what you're talking about!"_

The girl was watching her solemnly.

"_If you so choose, Kairi Princess of Heart, you can unleash a nightmare."_

"…but why, Hayner, why!"

"Hey, he said he'd give me five hundred munny if I'd do it!"

"Yes but is munny that relevant?"

"It was something! It was worth it!"

"You don't get it, Hayner. My friend, you'll never find a girl. Or a boy, depending on your preferences-"

"Pence, shut up. Please."

"Hey, where did you see them last again?"

"You think I'd know?"

"Well yeah. I mean, you said you'd stalk them-"

"I was joking!"

"Trying to believe that. It's not working, Hayner. You gotta do better than that."

"Yeah and maybe then you can tell us what you know about Seifer crashing the club cussing the hell out of us."

"I swear, I don't know anything!"

"Still trying to believe that. It's not working…"

Awareness. She saw darkness but felt warmth. She had read in books before about the safety of dark warmth, something akin to the womb. Tidus had made some stupid jokes about it but it was there, the idea of peace, of a haven, a sanctuary. That was what she felt now. Her heart beat steadily, lazily, safe inside her.

Presence. It was like a radiator, like the sun. It was there and one could feel the heat but it was not scorching. Nor was it cold. It was a fuzzy, comforting warmth, enveloping her protectively. She could have slept forever, if they hadn't come in…

_If you so choose, Kairi Princess of Heart, you can unleash a nightmare._

And she knew she couldn't exactly go back to sleep with that in her mind. What if she met the girl again?

But she felt so sleepy…and much too lazy to wake up.

"…shhh!"

"Don't shush me!"

"No, you idiot! They're sleeping."

"_Who's_ sleeping?"

"Pence, please, don't even try…just don't. Don't even think about it."

"About what?"

"Shut up, both of you! Leave them alone."

"Say Hayner."

"What!"

"Did they have anything to do with Seifer cussing us out?"

"Y-I don't know! Stop asking me these questions! I wasn't there!"

"Yes you were."

"No I wasn't!"

"Yes."

"No.

"Yes!"

"NO!"

"Shut up, both of you!"

Olette, always the concerned one. And what were Hayner and Pence talking about?

"You know what would be fun?"

"Pence, won't you ever-"

"Blackmail."

"…excuse me?"

"You know, we can totally get either one of them to do anything and everything for us if I take a picture right now and threaten to show it to Sora-"

"Pence, are you trying to get yourself killed?"

"Kairi doesn't look like the one to kill me-"

"Oh if she wants to, she can."

"And how do you know this?"

"Uh…I'm just assuming…?"

Blackmail? Sora?

No use trying to go back to sleep now. Even if they leave, those two words would haunt her forever. But then…what did that mean? Wait a minute…where was she? And where was Roxas?

The presence.

Kairi opened her eyes, blinked blearily. Everything was so fuzzy and out of focus…

Two things came to mind as soon as her vision cleared. One, the world was on its side. Or she was on her side. And two, she did not have three hands.

And three, this was one big couch.

Meaning four, she was inside the clock tower.

Five, she fell asleep outside sitting on the ledge! Was she crazy? Apparently!

Six, someone brought her in. Must have been Roxas. Who else was here, besides him?

Seven, he put her on the couch.

And eight…where was he?

One of the hands moved. It wasn't hers.

_Blackmail. Sora._

Kairi tilted her head slightly, then realized that the hand belonged to Roxas. His arm was draped over her, hugging her, pulling her against…him. She felt herself heat up with embarrassment. He was sleeping, too, on the couch next to her.

_Wish I went back to sleep. Wish I went back to sleep. Wish I…_

His arm suddenly pulled away. She shivered as she felt it slide over her waist; she felt the beginnings of a burning sensation but ignored it desperately as she sought the blissful ignorance of sleep. But that strange girl in her dreams…and the very disturbing conversation going on in another part of the clock tower were going to keep her up. No point in sleeping now.

"Hey."

She remembered the chill, the utter weakness in her limbs, and that voice addressing her. Her savior.

_No, I don't want to think about it. I don't want to remember…_

"Yeah?"

She sensed him sitting up but remained in her position. The memories were still fresh in her mind, vibrantly acute, and they drained her.

"Nothing…"

Sleepy. She remembered feeling sleepy. She felt her eyelids drooping, felt herself slip away into the bliss of sleep again-

"_You will destroy everything you hold dear if you do not turn back!"_

"What!" she yelled, sitting up abruptly. Kairi regretted doing that a second later; she felt so lightheaded she thought she would pass out. She swayed in place, wincing at the resulting headache and feeling a horrid dread over what that voice just said.

"Are you alright?" Roxas grabbed her shoulder and turned her around. She stopped breathing, so shocked by the serious expression on his face.

"What happened?" That was Olette! She bounded into the room, followed by Hayner and Pence. "What happened?"

Kairi turned her head, saw all three of them watching them. Olette looked frantic, Hayner was trying to decide whether to look just as worried or amused, and Pence…was trying not to laugh.

"N-nothing," she stammered. "I…it's nothing."

"You sure?" That was Roxas.

"I'm sure…" She couldn't stand the awkward position she was in. No wonder Pence suggested blackmailing.

"Maybe I'm just imagining things," Olette suddenly said, rubbing her eyes. "I think I danced too much for too long."

"Well it's pretty late anyways," Hayner said, looking at a cheap clock hanging on the farthest wall. A funny thought struck her; they were inside a clock tower and there it was, a tiny clock keeping time for them. Well it was trivial but amusing nonetheless. Or she could be going crazy. She could still feel his hand on her shoulder.

"Yeah, I should go home," Pence agreed, albeit reluctantly. "Hideout tomorrow?"

"Without fail," Hayner said solemnly.

Once Pence left the room, the tension eased, somewhat. Kairi kept shoving down the panic rising inside her; there was something very scary about Pence. Very scary and potentially perverted.

"Don't mind him," Olette said. She seemed to have read Kairi's mind. "He's just looking for attention. Either that or he's perverted…or evil. It depends."

"Will keep _that_ in mind," Roxas muttered.

Hayner went to a one-seat couch and flopped down in it. He stared up at the ceiling, then at the clock.

"Block your ears, ladies and gentlemen," he said with a sigh. "The twelfth hour strikes in a minute."

Olette muttered something undistinguishable as she covered her ears.

Once the last vibrations of the last bell dissipated, Kairi slid her hands off her ears and onto her lap. She sighed, staring at the floor.

"How long am I going to be here?" she asked.

Olette looked thoughtful. "Well, I expect Sora to expect you to be here when he comes back. So I guess you'll have to stick with us until he does."

"But what if he doesn't?"

"Well, you can always take the train home," Hayner suggested.

"I…don't recall seeing any train stations where I live," Kairi said doubtfully.

"Nonsense," Hayner scoffed. "Every world has a train station."

"Well…," Roxas spoke slowly, "if you want, Kairi, you can go find him. Nobody's going to stop you from going out there to find him."

"But I…" That thought had been in her mind for some time, scary as it was. "I don't know how to fight."

_This time…I'll fight._

"Then we'll have to teach you," Olette said simply. "Problem solved."

"Yes, problem solved," Hayner agreed airily. "We, the masters of the Struggle Tournaments, can teach you how to fight-"

"Roxas should teach her," Orette interrupted, looking pointedly at the two of them. "Alone."

"What?" Hayner sat up straight. "Are you questioning my abilities?"

"No, but he's obviously got more experience than you fighting those-those-those Heartless monsters," the brunette reasoned sensibly. "It only makes sense that he teaches her."

Kairi felt strangely disconnected from this whole scene. Roxas suggested she leaves Twilight Town to go find Sora. Hayner and Olette agreed that she would have to learn to fight. And Roxas would show her how.

_This time…nobody's going to fight for me. It's time I learn how to do these things myself._

But was she really that willing?

"Do you really want to learn, Kairi?" Roxas asked. His breath brushed at her ear. He felt close, a little too close. Luckily Hayner and Olette were embroiled in an argument over Hayner's 'questionable' fighting abilities and ignored them completely, saving her further embarrassment.

She nodded slowly, then said, "All my life they had to do it for me, Sora and Riku. They were the strong ones, the ones who could do _something_. If I wasn't doing nothing, I was being weak and pathetic. Back then, before the Heartless came, I didn't mind. But afterwards…I hated feeling I could do nothing. They could change the world, and all I could do was wait for them to come home. Every single day, I'd watch the sea and the sky, waiting for them to come home. They never came."

"You weren't pathetic when you attacked Seifer."

She smiled, giggled a little. She remembered the astonished look on Seifer's face, coupled with agony, and knew it was a memory worth keeping forever. "Well, I was pretty pissed. I never really felt that angry before, though…"

"So anger is how you fight. But didn't you ever feel anger before? Didn't you ever feel angry enough to strike something? Or someone?"

"No, I was happy, always happy. Too content to hurt anything. I can't remember feeling angry. I felt frustrated, though. Depressed, too. Despair. Those I could feel. But not anger. It actually felt good, though. Especially when I let it out on him-hey!"

Out of nowhere his arms wrapped around her and pulled her against him. Too shocked to even start panicking over the awkward position, she simply sat there leaning against him, wondering what he was going to do next.

_This Roxas is getting weirder and weirder, and more unpredictable with every hour…_

"You're so amusing," he said, directly into her ear. There was slight pressure on her shoulder; he was resting his chin on it. She didn't dare turn her head for fear she'd lose it. "And so amazing."

_Amazing. He's calling me amazing…_

"I'd take that as a compliment," she whispered. For some reason she felt too strangely to say it in normal tones.

"You should. I meant it that way. Besides, Seifer did need a kick in the head, or his balls in this case. Seems to me that since the last time I saw him his head bloated."

"And when was that?"

He as silent for a few minutes. "A few months ago, I think."

"What did you do between then and now?" Kairi asked. She remembered Hayner asking a similar question about his whereabouts. Apparently the day the Heartless struck during the Struggle Tournament was the day Roxas came back home.

The silence was noticeably longer. And when he finally spoke, his voice was low and quite serious.

"I won't say what I was doing for those few months but…I've been to places. Many places. Let's not talk about it."

_He's hiding something again. Why am I so worried about this? He has the right to not talk about his issues, if he had any in the first place, but I'm like frustrated that he won't talk. It's like…it's like he shouldn't be hiding these things from me. He should be talking with me about his problems. Why? Why do I feel that way?_

"…fine, I'll take the other room!" Hayner was speaking and apparently the two were over with Hayner's fighting ability, whatever that was and at whatever level.

"Oh stop shouting, you're making my ears bleed!" Orette snapped back.

"Arguing like an old couple," Roxas remarked. "I remember this one time when they were having this enormous fight over nothing and Pence started refereeing and making comments that weren't all that appropriate. I think he lost twenty pounds running through half the town just to get away from them."

Kairi giggled. "I can see that happening."

"…I'll call them! I'm serious, Olette. I am not walking home tonight. Way too late and way too cold. Who knows what kind of people are on the streets!"

"Exactly! That's why I'm going to stay here and not you! I don't know anyone who'd jump you but I'm not going to risk myself if there are rapists out there-"

"Rapists! Aren't you being a little overdramatic here?"

"What! You bloated blind sexist, don't you have…"

"She almost reminds me of Selphie," Kairi suddenly said, reminded of her spunky friend back home.

"Selphie?"

"She's a year younger than me, and my only female friend on the islands. Most people don't stick around with me, since I wasn't from that place. Sora found me first so we've been friends the longest. Then Riku, Selphie, Tidus, and Wakka. It was the six of us. It's kind of funny, actually; Hayner kind of reminds me of Tidus…sometimes though, just sometimes."

"Then what about Pence?"

"I'm not sure. Not a lot of people I know of enjoy getting on people's nerves."

"And me?"

She opened her mouth but shut it quickly, swallowing the answer. No, she could not say, would not say. How could she have nearly said it so carelessly?

_There's only one Sora in the world, one Sora and one Riku. There's nobody out there like them. No one._

"I don't know," she said slowly, carefully, choosing her words. "You're not like most people I've met. Pence is one thing but you're…something else. Different. Really different."

"Is that supposed to be a compliment?"

She didn't really know and said so.

"I'll pretend it is."

He pulled her even closer. She shivered pleasurably at the warmth, never knew someone could be so warm and physically comfortable to be with.

"We should sleep," he said presently, after watching Hayner and Olette spar some more. She blinked slowly, didn't care to nod or shake her head. The verbal battle seemed to be going much more slowly now. Both of them were clearly very tired but they weren't going to give up. They were far too stubborn and full of pride to give in.

"Kairi?"

"I'm tired," she said with a yawn.

"Just close your eyes, then," he said gently, his voice low so only she could hear him. "Just close your eyes."

She smiled as she did.

_You're still a mystery to me, but you really are the most amazing person I've ever met. I wish I'd known you sooner, Roxas. You're one of a kind._

''

Seifer had finally shed his hobbling status as he walked down the dark street alone, with only the street lights to show him to the way back to his house. He was still grimacing, still wincing with every step he took, but he was getting there. The pain was going away. His foot was still rather sore and his…well, his 'boys', he wasn't sure about them actually.

"Damn bitch," he growled under his breath. She really was new to town if she didn't know that stomping on Seifer's balls meant eventual suicide. But, and he thought of this with reluctance, she did have fire. And he admired that. She seemed to be a fiery individual, although her incredible blue eyes said otherwise. A perfect contrast between her crimson hair and her cool sapphire eyes.

"Damn bitch!" She was really getting to him now. "I'll show you who rules this world…"

Where he lived there weren't a lot of people out at night. But as he drew nearer to his home, he saw a tall, stocky-shouldered figure standing under a streetlight near the corner of the block. He couldn't see the head; the person was wearing a trench coat with a huge turned-up collar.

Suddenly curious, Seifer quietly approached the person, darting amongst the shadows. Seifer didn't like sneaking about; he was a particular fan of flamboyance but at night, sneaking about was safer. And satisfying to his curiosity.

"…yes, it's begun…there's no point in killing if that person is going to do something important in the future…yes, I told you…no way to tell the future? Then I shouldn't eliminate anyone at all!"

Seifer held his breath, shocked. This man was going to kill people! That's what he was saying, right? Wait, it was a man, right?

"…is that so? Is he…fast forward then! Look, if I do that and he finds out, I'm dead for sure…look, you stupid bitch, I ain't doing it! Okay, fine! Look…tell that bastard I want several weeks…okay, a few…what! Here!"

Somehow Seifer knew immediately what this man was talking about and threw himself down onto the ground. This man obviously was working for some big secret network, the way he was going on into what must be a cell phone.

But when he felt that sufficient time had passed – and he could no longer feel his feet; he was sitting on them in a rather awkward position – he slowly rose to his feet and stuck his head out of the shadows.

The man was gone. He had never been there.

**Author's Endnote:** The one thing about this story that surprised me is Seifer's role. No joke. Press the review button? Thanks.


	5. Musings

**Author's Note:** This chapter was originally WAY longer but I decided to cut it in half. You know, add to the suspense and all. I hope you enjoy it.

**Copyrights:** The characters and settings are copyrighted by Square-Enix and Disney. The storyline is mine…for the most part, depending on whose side of the story you're reading.

**Disclaimers:** Stories written from multiple viewpoints are so interesting. Please keep in mind to review, thanks.

**A Walk In Andante**

**5 - Musings**

"…I can't believe she said that," Hayner muttered. "_'He obviously got more experience than you fighting those monsters. It only makes sense that he teaches her.'_ Well I killed two of those monsters! Doesn't that mean I can join in with you guys?"

"Is Olette like the boss around here?" Kairi asked curiously.

"No, but she likes to pretend she is," Hayner growled.

"Do not!" Olette snapped.

"Hayner only listens to Olette because-"

"Pence, shut up, this has got nothing to do with you!" both teenagers snapped. The black-haired boy visibly quailed under double glares.

Kairi couldn't stop giggling. They were right about Pence! She could easily assume what he was going to say. And unfortunately Pence was rather accurate. There was this animosity and friendship running between the two that she just found so funny.

"So where's Roxas?" was Olette's next question.

_Trust Olette to disprove my theory. Asking about Roxas just like that…_

Kairi frowned somewhat as she found her mood plummeting at an exponential rate. Then she shook her head again, then tugged at the ends of the shirt she was wearing. Then she remembered how tired she was and yawned behind her hand.

Olette had woken her up quite early that morning. At the moment Kairi didn't really like it but she eventually did appreciate the early-morning wake-up call. It would have saved her further embarrassment of the likes she would love to forget. The brunette then dragged her down to some area in Twilight Town where she bought Kairi some clothes.

That kind of reminded her of how long she was going to stay in Twilight Town.

_If you can't come back to me, Sora, then I guess I'll have to find you._

Except something was starting to bother her. All these thoughts about Sora, about his whereabouts and the promise they made, it all seemed so…limited. Narrow. Like she was being pulled in a direction and had no choice for his sake. For their sake.

"I thought he was with you guys," Pence began, then stopped. His eyes narrowed considerably. "Did you four do something while I was gone?"

"Not that I know of," Hayner said off-handedly. "Either that or I simply didn't notice."

"Stop being so nosy and perverted, Pence," Olette added. "You're nasty."

"And that took you _how_ long to figure that out?" Hayner demanded.

Kairi smiled, then looked down and tugged at her shorts. She wasn't too fond of shorts and it took a lot of fussing and pestering from Olette before she agreed to try them on. She got more than scattered surprised looks around the clothing store when she came out to see herself in front of the mirror.

"Black shorts, ends at the knees. Some people called them cropped shorts, although that makes me think about those really short shorts that look more like underwear than actual shorts," Olette described perfectly. "Pink stripes on opposite sides so you'll need a pink shirt to go with that. And a shirt of a different color underneath. And maybe a jacket, too. And some shoes. You'll definitely need some shoes. And-"

"Isn't that expensive?" Kairi ventured to ask, interrupting the endless stream of words coming out of the teenager's mouth.

"Not on my budget," Olette grinned. "My parents have enough to get on by and a little better. Their daughter get's the run-off."

_They really want me to know how to fight. Why?_

"…so I run into Seifer and he had the weirdest look on his face…"

Kairi raised a hand and touched her neckline, fingering the string around her neck. Her hand then slid down, following the line, to the small round pendant hanging from it. She touched it, fingered it, as she stared at them, beyond them. Then her hand drifted to her other hand and started twisting the white ring on her left index finger. She felt something pounding deep inside her. Voices. Perhaps they were voices. Could it be Sora?

_I remember talking to someone before…but that's all I remember. Why am I forgetting things so easily_-

"I see you're ready for a one-on-one," she heard Roxas say, felt his hand on her shoulder. She tilted her head and looked up at him through her bangs.

"You could say that."

He smiled, then said, "Move over a bit?"

She edged a bit to her right, then felt herself tense up when Roxas sat down next to her on one of the bigger boxes in the hideaway.

"Have they been at it this whole time?" he asked curiously, watching Hayner, Olette, and Pence fence each other with words.

"Actually Hayner was mad that Olette thought you should be the one to show me how to fight," Kairi said slowly, getting her still-muddy brain to work properly. "Then they fought over who decided when Olette was the boss. Pence, naturally, said something that made both of them angry with him and…they've been like this ever since."

Roxas nodded slowly, thoughtfully. Kairi felt her insides go warm at the look on his face; he just looked so adorable when he had such a contemplative look on his face. Then she noticed the black shirt he was wearing, made of some thin, stiff-looking material with a collar and all. He had it buttoned down all the way except for the top three or four buttons and had his sleeves rolled up. He was also wearing a white shirt underneath the black one, and dark blue pants. He was still wearing those shoes with the red straps, though.

Kairi felt herself smile as she stared at the shoes. She remembered when she reached out to touch the red color so stupidly two days ago. Roxas probably thought she was high or something to escape an attempt at her life only to be mesmerized beyond comprehension with some crisscrossing red straps on his shoes.

"What are you smiling at?" he asked softly and in her ear.

"Nothing…" she said rather playfully. "Just being bored is all."

"Hm…" Then she felt her bangs being brushed back behind her ear. "We should get a hair clip to hold back your hair when you're running around with a…what's it called…a blue bat."

"A hair clip?"

Roxas shrugged. "It's your call."

"Okay then." That's what he said, right? "Tell them to figure out something to do, for one. If they keep at it, they'll never notice what's going around, and we'll never get anything-hey!"

She felt his hand close around hers, then she felt herself being pulled onto her feet, out of the hideaway, and onto the Twilight Town streets.

"What if Seifer finds us again? And where are we going?" she demanded when the pace slowed down to a brisk walk on the sidewalk parallel to a trolley line.

"Seifer won't be messing with you for a time," Roxas said confidently. "The guy's got his ego bruised, nearly broken, Kairi; bound to keep the guy away for a while. And we're going to the arena. No use waiting for them to get something done, right?"

The Struggle Tournament arena was built into a section of Twilight Town, a circular area with blue bats inside its confines. Nearby stood a large scoreboard and a distance away stood an announcement board. Few people were walking around here and even fewer were studying the announcement board. Roxas left Kairi reading the scoreboard to look at the announcements, then came back to find her inside the arena, picking up a bat and hefting it in her hands.

"If I do have to go after Sora," she began as he picked up a bat, "then I need a real weapon."

Roxas nodded. She saw the beginnings of a troubled look appear on his face but within moments it sank back inside him, leaving the exterior smiling slightly and in agreement.

_What was he thinking about? It's like something's bothering him. Something…about me. It must be about me. But what? What_-

Something tapped her on the shoulder. It was the blue bat Roxas was holding.

"There's something about fighting that you should know. It's quite fundamental to not only battles and one-to-one combat but also survival."

"What?" She had no idea what he was talking about.

She scowled when he tapped her on the head with the bat and wasn't too gentle about it, either. "Pay attention. Focus on what's going on _here_, not somewhere in fairyland. Fighting is serious; you could get injured, possibly die. Sora's tough; fighting Heartless like that for over a year's made him tougher. Same thing with this Riku friend of his, I bet. But you're not used to fighting. We're going to have to toughen you up."

"Who's 'we'?"

Roxas thought for a moment. "Let's not get technical here. First off, we have to-_I_ have to get you into shape. If you've never had any experience before and you decide to try going hand-to-hand with…say…Seifer, then you're going to pull a muscle or something and you'd either be out of the fight for a long time, for good, or he'll just bash you on the head."

"Pull a muscle? How do you pull a muscle?" Kairi had never heard of that before.

"You don't need to know to understand that it's quite painful," Roxas said simply as he set the bat down on the ground. He then took a step to each side and began putting his weight on one leg. "Copy me. This way your muscles will get flexible enough and you won't get into as much pain as you normally would."

"Sora and Riku never had to do any of this," Kairi muttered as she dropped the bat as well. As far as she knew, they never had to do any of these 'stretches' in order to go run around the beach, steal Wakka's blitzball, and mock fight. At high school nobody bothered doing these 'stretches' because nobody was interested in physical education.

"Well maybe because they didn't have to," Roxas suggested, shifting his weight to the other leg. "I had to, long ago. Once I got good enough I didn't have to do as many of these. Once in a while, though, I would do it, just to make sure I didn't get too…how do I say this…_rusty_."

"Maybe if I took Selphie's advice years ago and-what are you doing?"

Roxas now had his right arm across his chest and was pulling at it with his left hand. "Oh, one of these arm stretches. You can look pretty stupid but it's one of them. I know some really stupid ones but we won't go there."

"Look pretty stupid?" Kairi suddenly felt a thousand unblinking eyes on her back. She looked around the arena but they were all alone. People were gone. "Where'd everybody go?"

"It's an unspoken rule here that if someone's going to do a little practice on the Struggle Tournament arena, everybody leaves. Usually it's because new challengers have a tendency to throw their bats out of the circle by accident. The more experienced people don't come here often."

"But I'm not going to be in a tournament…"

"Does it matter? Who knows, you might over-swing, let go of the bat, and watch it fly out and hit some old lady on the head."

Kairi covered her mouth and tried her best to hold back a laugh.

"Or Seifer, if you'd like," Roxas quickly added as he switched his arm. "Hey, pay attention! The faster we get these warm-ups over with, the faster we can start bashing each other with these bats!"

Kairi didn't laugh anymore.

''

"…I can't believe this…"

Olette groaned loudly. "Hayner, would you just shut up! We've been through this already! Roxas obviously knows how to deal with these Heartless monsters and you don't so just let him teach Kairi how to fight them! I mean, she's bound to meet them if she does go out there looking for Sora!"

Hayner practically ignored her, still muttering something terrible. The way he sat there on the train, slouched over the seat with his arms crossed and his stony expression, he looked insane.

"Maybe he's just jealous," Pence hissed. Olette groaned again.

"Pence, don't you dare-"

"I mean, maybe he's jealous that Roxas get's Kairi all for himself-ow!"

He yanked away his foot. Olette smiled sweetly at him, tapped the heel of her shoe on the floor, then looked at Hayner. The blond teenager now looked absolutely livid.

"Let's go get something to eat!" she said. "I'll make it up to you."

"Do I look hungry to you?" Hayner snapped.

"I am," Pence quipped, still nursing his poor toes.

"You didn't eat anything this morning," Olette pointed out.

"How do you know? You weren't even there; you were busy dragging Kairi around getting her new clothes-"

Hayner's stomach growled loudly and he was no longer able to keep up his argument.

"Well, that proves her point," Pence said. "Now to prove mine; Hayner, no offense, but you should just let the whole thing go. What's the big deal anyways? Just because he can fight better than you doesn't mean that-"

"And _that's_ supposed to make me feel better?"

"Well, I mean he was able to kill those Heartless in a matter of seconds. You were at it for like hours and you only killed two-"

"Didn't Sora say something about a key?" Olette interrupted. "He said some sort of key destroys the Heartless. Attracts them, too."

"Yeah," Hayner agreed rather defensively. "All I got was a blue bat!"

"Roxas had the killer moves," Pence countered.

"Well-well I've been in more tournaments!"

"And yet he was the one that whupped Setzer's ass."

"…shut up, Pence. Why are you backing him anyways? Is there something going on between you two?"

Olette growled deep in her throat but neither boy heard her.

"Are you calling me gay?" Pence demanded, leaning across her to glare at Hayner, who was also somewhat leaning over her as well to face the black-haired boy face to face.

"Maybe I am," Hayner said slowly and with satisfaction. "That could explain a lot of things-"

"Firstly, I'm not gay, and secondly, I bet you like Kairi, because you never got this angry before over Roxas being better than you-"

"I don't like Kairi!" Hayner said hotly. "I like…"

He drifted off, his face turning blotchy red. "I mean…"

It was too late. A grin began to grow on Pence's face. Olette sighed. It was time to intervene or Pence was going to say something absolutely stupid that would drive Hayner absolutely crazy that would make them do something absolutely idiotic on the train. She reached out and shoved both their heads away from her.

"Ow! What was that for?" Hayner demanded, holding his head.

"Yeah, what did we do to you?"

"Uh…make me smell your breaths, maybe? Do you guys like ever brush your teeth or something?" Olette demanded. "And people are staring."

It seemed like both boys realized for the first time that they were not alone in the train compartment. They looked around at the few other people; most of those few were staring at them in confusion.

"You two are embarrassing. I don't even know why I sit with you," Olette muttered. "Move."

Neither boy resisted as she got up and left the train compartment to the adjacent one. There were more people in this compartment; Olette had an odd feeling that they were all there because of the two boys. She did recall hearing people opening and closing the doors between the train cars.

"Hi," Olette said to a teenage girl sitting in a seat near the middle of the car. "Do you mind if I sit here?"

The girl nodded. She was blonde, with bangs and long locks of hair. She was wearing a spring green sweater and what looked like a pale cream skirt. She was sitting cross legged and was balancing a paper pad on her lap. The girl was busily drawing something.

"Sorry about that," Olette said with a shy smile as she sat down next to her. "I just had to get away from some idiot friends of mine for a while. They're rather embarrassing, I must say."

"It's okay," the girl whispered. Her voice was soft.

"What are you drawing?" Olette asked curiously, leaning in to see what was on the paper pad.

"Oh…a picture."

Olette found that a strange answer. Obviously she was drawing a picture…

She stared. Who was that? It was a young man but she had never seen a young man like him before. Olette raised her head and looked around but she saw nobody who appeared even remotely similar to this person. Was this girl drawing him from imagination or what?

"That's amazing," Olette whispered, her eyes devouring the image.

The young man was pale and muscular, although that was mostly muted by the long black trench coat he was wearing. He was raising his right arm and looking at his gloved hand. A long strip of darkly shaded cloth was hanging from the palm of his hand and fluttering to an unknown breeze. He had long hair, lightly shaded. She wondered what the color was. And his eyes…they were so icy cold, a chilly glance that seemed to cut through her. He seemed omnipresent. Olette shivered and rubbed her arm. Something told her this may not be merely a picture.

_Could this really be a real person?_

"What's your name?" the blonde girl suddenly asked.

"Me?"

The girl nodded. Olette decided to entertain her, although it was strange giving her name to a complete stranger, talented as she was.

"I'm Olette. What about you?"

The blonde girl didn't hesitate.

"My name is Naminé."

''

"Oh my god!" Kairi sat down in the middle of the court, breathing so hard she thought her lungs were going to burst. "This is crazy!"

"Yeah, well…" Roxas crouched down next to her with a weary smile. Sweat dripped off the tip of his nose. He shook his head, spraying salty water everywhere.

"Stop that! That's disgusting!" Kairi laughed, wiping at her own sweaty forehead. "At this rate I think I can kick your butt at the end of the week!"

"You have no idea what you're in for, do you?" Roxas smiled.

Suddenly, spontaneously, Kairi wanted to hug him. She moved her arms a bit, then stopped herself just as soon as she realized what she was doing. Deeply embarrassed, she looked elsewhere and tapped at the ground with the blue bat. She froze when she felt something slide over the side of her face, then felt her bangs being brushed back. She turned her head slightly and Roxas pulled his hand away.

For a long moment they stared at each other, then he stood up and held out his hand. She stared at it, then followed the arm up to his eyes.

"C'mon. Let's go."

She nodded, then took his head, holding onto it tightly as he pulled her to her feet. Roxas tossed his bat to the edge of the arena and she did the same, wincing at the clatter. Still there was nobody in the area, and all she knew was that they had been at it for hours.

Roxas had given her more than a few good whacks for not being sharp enough during the first thirty minutes, when he was testing her skills. Then came an eternity of simple footwork and short strokes, then he started showing her how to counter a strike. And that went on for hours on end. Literally.

"I'm tired," Kairi said as they left the arena. Her muscles were aching and it took all her strength to not stagger when walking.

"Not surprisingly," came the reply. "My place is closer. I'll let you have first dibs with the shower."

Kairi thought for less than a minute before she agreed. "Fine. But you'll have to lend me some new clothes."

"Cast-off shirt and pants. That okay?"

Kairi laughed all the way to his apartment.

''

Axel was pissed. Very pissed.

There was no other way of putting it. At times he saw nothing but red; other times he randomly set things on fire, including all the dead leaves in the backyard of the castle beyond the city walls of Twilight Town.

_I need to get out of here! I need to go out and find him! Yes, find him, talk to him. Why is he back? Why? And why doesn't he remember the Organization? What about me? WHAT ABOUT ME! Okay, calm down. Back to the beginning. Roxas is out there. I have to get out of here and find him. Yes. We'll start with that._

It was beyond him why Roxas was back in Twilight Town. It also drove him crazy, seeing Roxas wandering around the world just like before. Roxas wandering around living and acting like any other person on the streets.

But of course, Roxas was not just a kid. Not a normal teenager. He was a Nobody. Sora's Nobody. A being without a heart. A body without the deep, complex human emotions. The greatest capacities were for friendship, partnership, anger, and utter loathing, to the point of violence.

Loathing was high on his list right now. How could Roxas put so much focus on-on Kairi like _that_? It was like…like he was in love. In _love_. Ridiculous! Impossible! Completely wrong!

"Something's wrong here. Something's definitely wrong here," he muttered furiously. "Those two can't be together like that. Not like that. No, impossible. A Princess of Heart and a Nobody? My friend? This was _not_ what I expected. That wasn't supposed to happen. They weren't supposed to meet. That…"

_Just wasn't supposed to fucking happen! This was not how I was going to take vengeance! What a way to blow a perfectly sensible plan, all because something screwed up and ROXAS is back in town!_

_Wait…since Sora and Roxas are connected…more like they're one goddamn person…is Roxas like a projection of Sora into Twilight Town? Like Roxas is a reflection of Sora sent to watch over Kairi? But the scent…this is not Sora. He's not Sora. He's not a part of Sora. No, he is a part of Sora. He's Sora's Nobody. But he doesn't smell like Sora. No, he's definitely different. Then Roxas…separated from Sora? That's impossible._

_Naminé must know about this, that witch…but DiZ? Should I approach him? Maybe he knows. Maybe he doesn't. Xehanort will kill me if I approach DiZ-wait a minute. Since when did that stop me? I hate that bastard…and I'm running to him for answers! But…it's okay. Everything's okay. After all…It's all for Roxas, isn't it?_

Axel growled, glared at a dying bush, and it burst into flames. He grinned but his pleasure for fire was soon clouded over as he thought about Roxas and Kairi again.

_Why is _she_ getting all the attention? Roxas should know everything by now. He should remember everything by now! He knows about our friendship, he knows how close we are! Doesn't he? Yes he does. He knows. He must know! I'll have to fix him up again, won't I? I'll have to go to DiZ…and he'll talk to the witch, and then we'll all be happy, won't we?_

A raw growl emitted from his throat as he ran a hand through his wild red hair. Axel sighed in frustration as he continued to wear down a path in the grass.

"What if Roxas says 'no'? What if he doesn't want me to help him? Then what? Damn it, what am I supposed to do if he won't let me help him? But why won't he let me help him? Who's being the stupid one, then? Huh!"

Two more bushes exploded.

"Okay, so Roxas leaves the Organization, Roxas meets Riku and gets his ass kicked, gets his memory screwed over so he forgets me, lives in Twilight Town, suddenly decides something's wrong, goes off to remember and then merge with Sora instead of see me, and out of the blue, goes _poof_, and come right back into Twilight Town like nothing's happened in the last twenty-four hours or something? And he gets all friendly with Kairi, too? What the fuck's with that? What the fuck did I do wrong?"

Axel now stood in one place, tapping on his chin and saving the grass from more footwork. He then looked up at the sky.

"But if I do approach Roxas…what would he say? What would I say? What would…either of us say?"

**Author's Endnote:** What depresses me is that we haven't gotten to the good part yet, which I'm plugging away at. I guess not being in the mood makes it harder than it is. Press the pretty 'review' button, yes?


	6. Scars

**Author's Note: **I know some people have been waiting desperately for this chapter because of some…fangirlism I guess represented in this chapter. On a bigger note, I'm not updating next week because I received some information that throws off the story completely. Part of that was that I discovered a side of Roxas that makes me love him even more but it presents problems to the current course of this story. Therefore, nothing next week as I attempt to edit the whole story and reformat everything. Heh, sue me now.

**Copyrights:** All characters and settings – along with the backstory – belongs to Square-Enix and Disney. The storyline as it is now is mine.

**A Walk In Andante**

**6 - Scars**

She closed her eyes and breathed in the brisk evening air. Her hair was almost dry now; the winds blew stronger the higher one goes, and Roxas didn't live anywhere near the ground. In the distance a train whistled and she opened her eyes to see the local train passing by, vanishing from view behind buildings.

Kairi sighed, smiled, then pulled herself back inside the room. She sat down on his bed, leaned against the closed half of the window, and closed her eyes again. She felt tired, not aching, but just tired. And happy. Relaxed. There was something about swinging around that blue bat that opened up something inside her, a tight knot untangling itself. She felt the white band on her index finger and started twisting it.

She opened her eyes again, then brushed back her red hair. She looked down at herself, at the white and gray shirt, and beige shorts. They felt strange on her but they fit. And she didn't look so bad in them, which made her laugh when she first came out of the showers wearing some of Roxas's extra clothes.

He only smiled as she sat on the couch in the room adjacent to his bedroom, and asked about the fit. Then he left to have his turn, leaving her to sit there, staring up at the ceiling and wondering about what she's getting herself into.

_I'm learning how to fight. The next time Riku makes fun of me, I'm going to be able to whack him and he won't be able to hit me back because I'm a girl. Wow. I feel pretty evil. And it feels good._

Then she went to his bedroom and opened the big window, deciding to watch the twilight sky. And now here she was, figuring out what's going to happen next.

She didn't know. And that made life a little more awesome.

_One day I learn how to fight, the next day I_-

"…oh, didn't see you here," she heard Roxas say suddenly, quickly. "I'll, um…go elsewhere…"

"Why?" It was too late for her to consider the possibility that she was in the same room as some nude male teenager as she turned her head towards the voice. But whatever else was on the tip of her tongue stayed there, melting into nothing.

Living near the sea meant a lot of time spent down at the beach. That meant a lot of skin exposure in public. She was used to it. She swore she was. It got to the point she almost agreed to let Selphie buy her – HER – a bikini. Luckily Kairi backed out at the last minute. But yes, she was used to the exposure, which probably made Twilight Town a bit strange for her.

But that still didn't come close to explaining why she was feeling all flustered and embarrassed all of a sudden.

_Oh my god, he doesn't have his shirt on! What am I doing in here! Oh my god, this is so wrong…this is wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong, wrong…if I ever tell Selphie about this, she'll go crazy for sure…but…_

She had ducked her head instinctively, but then raised her head again. She swallowed nervously, tried to hide the fact she was feeling like a tense bundle of energy ready to explode as she smiled at Roxas, trying to assure him that she was fine and that him being half-naked wasn't a problem to her.

Which was a problem, big time. She couldn't get over it, which was strange considering the people she's been running around with all her life. Yes, she did notice how Riku's physique changed, remembered how in the last few months Tidus and Wakka were all but competing with each other in some impromptu body-building competition, but…still…this was weird…way weird…

_Oh my god and whoa, this guy has muscle!_

But not bulky. She knew from the start but this time she could actually _see_ for herself what fighting had done to him. He was lean, for one, muscular and lean. Two, he obviously didn't flaunt _his_ physique, like how she's seen teenagers do it out at the beach. And three…she didn't even want to think about it. It's been nagging her for a while now but she won't go there.

_I wonder if this is what Sora looks like…since he isn't as 'big' as Riku but has been fighting for a long time now…why am I think these thoughts! Stop it, Kairi! Stop it!_

"…hello? Kairi? You alright?" She felt a slight pressure on her shoulder and gave a start as her eyes focused on reality again.

It was Roxas. Really close. And bare-chested. She had no idea what to do; she felt reason ebbing away, leaving her tongue-tied and feeling hot and flushed and flustered and confused and everything all at once.

"I…I…um…" There was no avoiding the concern in his eyes. "Um…"

She tried to look elsewhere, anywhere but his eyes, but – to her disgust – she found herself staring at his chest. And the scars, faint and dark, long and short, crisscrossing his pale body. Kairi stared.

She knew they had to be scars but they looked like someone trailed a paintbrush all over his body. Someone who obviously had a flair for the dramatic. It was a sensuous dance all over his body, at times short and brisk, at other times slow and languorous. It was a painting on a living, breathing canvas, and it mesmerized her. Vines brushed in with a slender brush, scarring and yet making the pale form more beautiful and real. The scars actually seemed to beautify him.

"Kairi?" he whispered but she only heard him from a far-off distance.

An insatiable desire was bubbling up in her, a yearning to touch the long perfect strokes, the horrendous scarring. She wanted to touch his skin where it was broken and mended, trace the many paths of pain, and feel the reality of life. The life he led, the life he shared with Sora and Riku. Like he was a connection to those she missed the most.

And for once she wanted to physically touch the hurt that she could see all the time in his blue eyes, the hurt that he could not hide with his smile.

He did not know how to smile with his eyes.

"Where…what happened?" she heard herself say in a faint voice, a voice nearly lost in the whistle of another train. "How did you…"

"How did I what?" Roxas asked slowly, apparently not understanding at all what she was saying. Or maybe he was. Denial in the hands of a master was a powerful weapon. But in a confrontation with a Princess of Heart…

"How did you get these…"

Kairi reached out and placed her fingertips on the long scar on the left side of his chest, the largest and most visible one on his torso. She felt him pull away but let her hand follow his movements. She studied his face, saw how nervous Roxas suddenly got.

"Battles," he said simply, carefully. "Long ago. I wasn't as good then as I am now. I've made mistakes before. Many mistakes…"

Kairi nodded, let her fingertips slide across his skin, following the other scars. He felt so warm, to the point of hot, and his skin seemed to be vibrating, filled with something she didn't know. Eventually Roxas broke eye contact and looked elsewhere. Gradually he closed his eyes, sat there on his knees next to her, while she touched every scar, every trace of pain. And all the while her mind was flying.

_If I found this on Sora, what would I do? What about Riku? How strange…to have never realized this before. What if…what if I have these scars? What if nobody can see them? I'm unblemished, after all. I'm a Princess of Heart, but what if…what if inside I'm scarred, just like Roxas is scarred all over his body. He's a fighter but I'm just a girl with a strong heart. If I can get marked…then what do Sora and Riku look like? If nothing ever happened to us, would we ever end up getting those scars anyways? Invisible and physical? Are we marked forever…by the Heartless?_

Her thoughts sank away as Kairi dared herself to press the flat of her hand against his body. The humming and the heat intensified considerably and Kairi finally forced herself to pull away, surprised. And stunned at herself.

"I…I'm sorry," she muttered, looking away. _I could really use some extra company here. Where's Hayner, Olette, and Pence when I need them…well, not Pence. He's a bit too-_

"About what?" He took her right hand and held it tight. "About what?"

"About…the scars," she stammered, startled. "What do you think of them?"

"Well…I don't consider them at all body art or tattoos," Roxas said solemnly, looking down at himself. "I don't know…I've been fighting most of my life, Kairi, and I'm forced to bear with me the reminders of blunders and mistakes and tactical errors I've made in the heat of combat. That's what these marks are. They just remind me about myself and what I do. Or maybe…I don't know…"

She heard him sigh, watched him shake his head. Then he suddenly raised his head and looked towards the door.

"Footsteps," he said slowly. "Could be the landlord."

"How do you know?" Kairi asked while he got off the bed and onto his feet. "Wait-"

"Just stay in the room," Roxas said as she jumped off his bed and ran up to him. "If it's not the landlord or anybody either one of us knows, it's best to stay far away from the door. Just wait, okay?"

Kairi scowled, didn't want to agree on this. It was at one of those moments where she was painfully reminded of who she was.

_I'm not some ordinary teenage girl. I'm a Princess of Heart. Life's difficulties cubed with added unknowns…and I hate high school. But that doesn't mean I can't handle this!_

She decided to follow him to the adjacent room, which was something like a living room which was connected to a small kitchen. She saw him standing at the big door, waiting for the pounding on the other side to dissipate.

"Why would this person want to knock this door down just to talk to you?" Kairi remarked as she sat down on the couch in the living room. Roxas looked at her and merely rolled his eyes.

"Well…I haven't been to this place in the last few months…didn't have a job…didn't pay the rent…didn't do a whole lot for this guy so he's probably pissed as hell right now. Sorry about that…"

She shook her head. Then she said, "You might want to do something about not having a shirt…except I think you'll want to answer the door before it falls on your head."

Roxas smiled, then opened the door halfway.

The middle-aged man standing in the hall did look like a landlord. He was a bit portly, had gray hair, and appeared incapable of missing even the tiniest change in his apartment complex. But the man was obviously surprised at Roxas's shirtless-ness.

"I know, I know…" Roxas sighed. "But can you give me a few extra days? I just came back from some other places and I still need to find myself a job and…"

Kairi sighed, ran a hand through her auburn hair. Of all the things about Roxas that nagged her most, it was that he wouldn't say where he went or how he even got back here in the first place. She didn't know why he was hiding that from her. Look at him now, trying to negotiate something with the landlord over payments for his rooms. Talking business while wearing pants but no shirt. And no shoes either. No wristband, no ring, nothing but a pair of dark beige pants. And revealing his scars.

"…how am I to trust you? The way you disappeared like that, just like all those irresponsible teenagers, I don't know why I trust you with a whole apartment to yourself. You owe at least two months' rent and I'm just being kind to you. If you don't get yourself a job and start paying off the rent for the past several months, I'm evicting you. You get that?"

"Sir, look, I-" Roxas began, sounding frustrated, when the landlord took a peek over his shoulder and looked right at Kairi. She froze.

"Say…who's this? Was I interrupting something here?" the landlord said, looking back at Roxas. Roxas no longer looked patient and negotiable. He was tense.

"What are you talking about?" he demanded. What was going on here?

"I mean, I didn't mean to interrupt you and your girlfriend and all, sorry for saying this, but-you aren't…"

Kairi felt herself flush hot red. Girlfriend? Where the hell did he get that idea?

_Stupid old people making stupid assumptions about me_-

"No, absolutely not!" Roxas snapped. "That's not why I suddenly came back or anything! Hell, we just met! You can ask my friends. You know who they are. We are not in some stupid situation or anything. We have not done anything at all. Okay?"

"Listen buddy, I don't know what you two are up to," the landlord snarled, jabbing a finger at Roxas's face, "but if I do catch you two doing something fishy behind my back, making me look foolish for pushing back payment three weeks, I'm calling the cops. Got that?"

"What made you think we were doing something?" Kairi suddenly found herself saying, and coldly at that. "Or that we were going to do something in the first place?"

The landlord stared at her, his brown eyes wide with shock. He then stammered something awful, although in the mess Kairi managed to figure out that somehow the landlord assumed that they were at something and their appearances more than merited for his suspicions, meaning…

She felt her mouth open in surprise. Roxas sighed, then looked at the landlord. "I'll start looking for a job by the end of this week then. I'll pay the damn rent, trust me. And in the meantime, don't go around poking into people's lives and assuming things that aren't necessarily true."

"That looks true to-"

"Good bye!" and closed the door in the landlord's face. For good measure, Roxas locked it, then headed over to where Kairi was sitting, looking mad and embarrassed. He knelt down in front of her, touched her leg to get her attention. Kairi started – she had started drifting off in her fairyland where she was assaulting the landlord with a blue bat – and looked at him.

"Sorry about that," he said. "The landlord has a tendency to assume too much…you'll get used to it, depending on how long you'll stay in Twilight Town in the first place and how often you're going to come up here."

She smiled, shook her head. "I'm not all that offended…but…I'm just surprised. Actually, that's pretty funny. Accusing me of being pregnant? What does that say about me?"

"Hey, I know you don't go running around with strangers every night. Of course, it could be Seifer's fault for getting the landlord all up like that, come to think of it, but-"

The door knob shook for a minute, then the door slammed open with a bang that forced it back around, then the door was shoved open and stayed open as Hayner, Olette, and Pence tumbled into the apartment. Roxas winced and Kairi heard him say, "Dammit, I forgot they had the other key…"

"Dude, we've been looking all over for you-"

"Had dinner over at that one place-"

"We knew you'd eventually come here-"

They were overlapping one another, talking all at once. Kairi thought she would go deaf listening to them yap. She looked at Roxas, who had an apprehensive look on his face. She could feel his hand on her knee tense considerably; he looked ready to bolt. She slowly placed her hand on top of his and squeezed it gently, trying to tell him he should calm down. Roxas started but then looked up at her. She felt her heart twist; he looked so nervous, so frightened. She wanted to hug him, hold him close, and tell him that everything was going to be all right, that nothing wrong was going to happen.

"…that damn landlord practically barreled past us talking about modern youth and all their issues involving drugs and sex and counterculture and suicide and teen pregnancy and hacking and down the hall he started yelling about how he was being too nice to you so-hey are you even listening? Hello-oh wait a minute…WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU TWO DOING?" Hayner shouted, jumping to his feet.

"What are you talking about?" Kairi demanded, staring up at him. She then looked at the others. Olette, who was sitting on a stool across from the couch, was gaping at Roxas – his scars, most likely – and Pence, who was sitting on the floor, looked…confused?

"That-that landlord…he was coming from Roxas's place, right?"

Kairi looked down at Roxas, saw him nod.

"And he was like…talking about…what were you two up to?" Hayner demanded, echoing his question. "What were you two doing here, huh?"

Kairi stared at Hayner and was shocked that she couldn't get it until Pence started laughing loudly and darkly. She colored, shouted at the same time Roxas did, "NOTHING! WE DIDN'T DO ANYTHING!"

And now Pence was smirking.

"They look AND act like an old couple."

Olette was shaking her head but Kairi could tell she was smiling, too. "Except they're not old, of course."

"SHUT UP!"

"And in denial," Pence continued.

Roxas pulled away and stood up. "I'm getting myself a shirt, then I'm kicking you three out of here. If the landlord comes back up here saying we're disturbing the peace, I'm blaming you."

"Hey," Hayner said, jabbing a finger at him, "you were the one who was shouting."

"You didn't even knock before you walked in here," Roxas countered. "Whatever. I'm getting a shirt."

He walked to his bedroom and closed the door behind him, leaving Kairi to face the other three, all of whom had questions written all over their faces. She sighed.

"We didn't do anything," she began plainly. "He said I could use the shower here and he gave me some clothes to wear and he had just come out of the shower when the landlord started banging on his door. More like hammered at it, really, but to make it short, nothing happened between us. Nothing. Pence, I hope you don't start doing, thinking, or saying something stupid."

"What, me?" Pence asked innocently, pointing to himself. Orette sighed and pushed him over with a shove of her left hand.

Hayner was pacing behind the couch, looking up at the ceiling, then down at the floor, then up at the ceiling, then down at the floor.

"Okay," he finally decided. "I say we do this: Kairi can go with Olette to her place. Pence goes home. I need to talk to Roxas alone so I'm going to be here until he gets out of his room. Yeah?"

"Wait, what?" Olette began hotly, rising to her feet. "Excuse me!"

Pence was gaping at Hayner. Kairi was more than shocked. Since when did Hayner start ordering them to do this and that? Since when did he think ordering people about was his divine right? Since when did he get…serious?

"I did not vote for you to be an absolute king!" Orette snapped. Her voice was dangerously low.

"Look, I just want to talk to him alone-"

"Nice way of asking us if you could go ahead and do that!"

"I was just-"

"Hey!" Roxas yelled from inside his room. "Will you guys just shut up? Hayner, if you want to talk to me alone, fine. But don't be that rude, okay?"

Hayner muttered something and Pence smiled. Kairi decided she didn't like it and backed away as far as possible.

''

Kairi had been wondering if Olette and Pence were going to say anything about Roxas's scars. Olette, she knew, had seen them, but she wasn't so sure about Pence. For some strange reason, women tended to be mesmerized by someone with a very nice, fit body. Even a heavily scarred one.

"So Kairi…"

"Yeah?"

"Where did Roxas get those…those scars?"

Pence was listening in. He had seen them, too. Kairi shrugged. She wasn't sure if she should tell them. Would Roxas want them to know? She knew it wasn't _that_ big of a deal; so he got himself into a couple of scrapes and got out of them with more scraps. But she had felt the vibe; he didn't want to talk about them. She remembered how surprised he sounded when he found her in his room staring out the window.

_He didn't want me to know…so I shouldn't say much to them about the scars. Then what do I say?_

"I'm not sure. Could have been some scuffles during those tournaments you people have. He didn't say much but I don't think he wanted me to find out about them…"

"Wait…he was walking around half-naked with you in the room?" Olette demanded, shocked.

Kairi stared at her.

"Wow…you know, that really is weird for Roxas," Pence agreed, for once not harassing either one of the girls in his perverted fashion. "I mean, I don't know anything about his scars, but I know he's not the guy to go walk around the house flaunting those marks on him-"

"I don't think he was flaunting them," Olette countered. "Maybe he just felt comfortable around Kairi."

"A bit too comfortable." The perverted, annoying Pence was back.

"Shut up," Olette snapped. "Leave Kairi alone."

The said person shook her head. There was a nagging in the back of her mind, a feeling that what Olette had previously said was right.

That feeling came with baggage: a question. Kairi toyed with the question, wondered if she should let it out into the open arena in her mind, and ponder over it. But then she shoved the question back into the shadows. She didn't want to deal with it yet. Not yet.

Maybe tomorrow.

''

Roxas was stalling. He knew he was stalling. That's why he was sitting on his bed, staring across the room, wondering what it was that Hayner wanted to ask him about.

_Why doesn't he want Olette and Pence to listen in on us? What about Kairi?_

He felt something inside him twist in a strangely pleasant fashion. It was something he couldn't get over; whenever he thought about the redhead his stomach started acting up. But he wasn't sick. Hopefully.

"What are you doing just sitting there?" Hayner had walked into the room unannounced. Roxas got up with a scowl, then strode past the blond teenager and started looking through a pile of clothes at the closet.

"Thinking."

He heard Hayner move towards the bed. Hayner probably wanted to sit on it.

"What are you doing here, Hayner?"

"I said I wanted to talk to you."

"About what?" Roxas asked, finding a dark blue sweater. He looked at it, then pulled it over his head.

"How was today?" Hayner said. It would have sounded completely innocent if Hayner hadn't spoken so quickly.

"She catches on pretty fast," Roxas answered as he yanked the shirt over his head completely. "Now why do you want to talk to me? Why-"

"Wherever she goes, we go," Hayner interrupted abruptly. "I don't want her wandering around Twilight Town with just you, Roxas, no offense."

"None taken," the blond teenager said coolly. "Though I can't imagine for the life of me why you want to stalk us all over town."

"That's-that's not it…"

Roxas sighed. There was something about Hayner's request that just threw him off. Made him mad. He knew anger but he didn't know this kind of anger. It was making him see red.

"Why this all of a sudden? Since when did you decide that wherever I take her, all of us are going? What if it's practice? Kairi doesn't like people watching her learn how to fight because it embarrasses her-"

"You are," Hayner muttered, stinging from the reminder of Roxas's superior fighting skills.

"That's because I'm the one teaching her!" Roxas yelled, his voice rising in a furious crescendo. "Why don't you just come out and tell me that you like Kairi! I'll spare you the agony! Just admit it, then I'll take you out of town to find Sora so you can confess that, too, and then we'll see what happens! Maybe he'll be like, "Okay, who is this guy?" or he'll just beat the shit out of you for hitting on his girl!"

He ended his rant, breathing heavily and glaring at the shocked teenager. He could feel his blood pulsing furiously under the skin, felt like he was expanding everywhere, devouring space and time.

Hayner looked absolutely astonished. His jaw dropped and he tried to speak several times, each attempt ending up with him moving his mouth soundlessly. And then he looked elsewhere, tapped at his chin, ran a hand through his hair, then looked at Roxas again.

"Why the anger? Roxas, what's pissing you off?"

That even made his mood worse. Roxas bit his tongue, then said, "I don't want to talk about _that_. Stop changing the topic. Why exactly do you want to follow Kairi around?"

"I don't like Kairi," Hayner said stiffly. "I'm more worried about you."

He looked pointedly at the other teenager, who was now the one looking baffled. "I don't get it. Hayner, something's going on, isn't it?"

Hayner refused to meet Roxas's eyes. Instead he stared at the floor. "That wasn't normal of you, Roxas. You know you usually don't yell like that when something or someone makes you angry. You're quiet, you brood, you think things over. But now you're reacting…like I do. Like a lot of people do. Angrily. Loudly. And I've been watching, Roxas. I'll admit it but it's true. I've been watching you two. She's doing something to do you, Roxas, and I really don't like it."

"You think she's messing with my mind," Roxas said. He had lost Hayner after the second or third line, then picked it up near the end. "So…you want to make sure she's not screwing with me, is that it?"

Hayner hesitated and Roxas narrowed his eyes. "There's more to it, isn't there? I mean, why are you even talking me about this? What are you afraid of, Hayner?"

He watched his friend scratch his head and shift on his feet, back and forth, back and forth. Roxas had a feeling he was battling with himself, that he knew something that he shouldn't say to just anyone. What did he know? And why was he holding back?

"I'm gonna go," Hayner finally declared. He turned for the door, then caught Roxas's eye. Roxas felt his face turn stony and grim, forced with all his will to get Hayner moving out the door and out of his apartment as fast as possible. Every second stretched to forever as they maintained the silent battle. Then Hayner broke away.

"What am I afraid of?" he repeated as he opened the door and strode across the living room to the next door. He opened it, and looked back at Roxas. "The future."

Roxas watched as the door closed. He must've imagined it. The future? What did Hayner know about the future? What did he mean by 'the future'? Roxas felt a chill creep up his arm and rubbed at it until the friction overwhelmed it. Then he closed the bedroom door and went to his bed. He sat down, then stared up at the ceiling. Then at his feet. Across the room. Behind him where the window was. Kairi had opened it. He leaned over and pulled it shut.

"_What am I afraid of? The future."_

Maybe Hayner did know something that he didn't. But how would Hayner have found out? _Who_ told Hayner?

"What does Hayner know about the future?" Roxas wondered out loud. He looked at his left hand, at the lone black band on his index finger, and felt a smile form on his face. He remembered seeing the white ring on her hand, the left index finger. And he knew that as long as she had it, she wouldn't forget.

Hopefully.

"_Wherever she goes, we go."_

Had someone told Hayner that Kairi was instrumental to some future, some bizarre tomorrow? Was she an unwitting trigger for something in the near future? What could that possibly be? She's just…one person.

_She's a Princess of Heart. She was the one who found Sora and Riku, two Keyblade Wielders. One person changed the lives of many. And is still changing lives…_

Including his.

Roxas sighed, then touched his chest, where the large scar was, the first place that she touched. Every once in a while he kept feeling the traces of her touch, a throbbing that left him feeling awkward and tense and loose all at once. He rubbed at the feeling but it wouldn't go away. She wouldn't go away.

Never would go away.

"What is she doing to me?" he whispered.

"And you're the one making all the moves on her," a frighteningly familiar voice blurted in the gloom of the bedroom. "A silly question, I think. Don't you think so?"

From the shadows stepped forward the last person he expected to see in this lifetime again.

**Author's Endnote:** Good? Bad? So-so? Could have been better? Please, let me know. I really need to know. Please review. Thank you.


	7. A Darkening World

**Author's Note:** If I'm lucky and fans of _Best Deceptions_ are reading this, then I have this message to give to them: _Best Deceptions_ may remain on indefinite hiatus, or at least until I cool down over my rage at _Kingdom Hearts II_ for numerous things I won't list here. School is currently a killer here, as the finals are approaching and yadda, and I also had to deal with a HUGE mistake in this story so hang in there with me. Awesome? Awesome.

**Copyrights:** All characters, settings, and the back story belong to Square-Enix and Disney. The storyline is mine.

**A Walk In Andante**

**7 – A Darkening World**

"Naminé," DiZ said softly as she determinedly ignored him and kept etching at her drawing pad. "Naminé, what is happening?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," she snapped in return. She glared at the mess her pencil spat out, then grabbed an eraser and started rubbing at the paper in a fury.

"I think you do, witch," DiZ said softly. "Tell me…what are you feeling right now?"

Though she hadn't stopped erasing the pencil marks, the steady strokes had been interrupted by a jerk of her arm. Then she was at it again, this time intent on burning heavy lines into the paper.

"I don't know what you're talking about," she said through tightly clenched teeth. "Didn't you hear me the first time around? I don't know what you're talking about, therefore I don't know what's going on."

"Look at me!" A fist banged on the table and she looked up instinctively, startled.

DiZ gazed at her, his visible eye glowing serenely. And yet she knew he was angry. Frustrated and tired of her playing games with him.

"You are not acting like yourself, Naminé," he said. "This is _not_ you. You hear me? I know you, Naminé. You are the helpful one, the one who tries to do right, to help others. You are a kind being. You never lose your temper…until just a few seconds ago. In fact…you didn't have a temper. Tell me what's going through your mind, Naminé. The Non-Existent Ones don't behave in that fashion."

"What does that mean?" she snapped. "I thought we could feel anger."

"Hatred, yes. Everyone feels it. But not human anger. I think a better word for it would be…_jealousy_."

Naminé flushed a dull pink. DiZ's one eye widened considerably. "And they don't blush, either."

"I'm embarrassed," she said smartly. "And I'm not jealous. I'm just…"

She sighed, then put her pencil down. "Axel came to me yesterday."

"Axel…" DiZ growled, bothered by the imagery of the Nobody of one of his former assistants.

"He was troubled."

"So he says."

"You know where Roxas has gone."

"Roxas?" DiZ looked at her. "What about him? That boy's gone and yet Axel's pestering you about him?"

"Not pestering. Demanding. He wants to know why Roxas is in Twilight Town."

"Roxas _isn't_ in Twilight Town, Naminé. He has merged with Sora. He's within Sora."

"That's not what Axel told me. He said he saw Roxas walking around Twilight Town with…with Kairi…" Naminé let loose a sigh and looked down at her drawing. She bit her lip.

"Her. The light that casts the shadow from which you were born. The untainted heart. What are they doing together? That shouldn't be happening. Roxas isn't supposed to be there."

"As if I don't know that," Naminé said rather scathingly. "Axel thinks she can give him a heart."

"Preposterous," DiZ snorted. "You are without a heart and never will have a heart. The Organization is foolish to try and regain what they lost through such idiotic actions. They are paying for what they have done. If they try to regain their hearts…they may very well be destroyed, for what they seek is pure light…and they cannot handle it without the darkness."

"Darkness?" Naminé asked curiously.

"All hearts have darkness as well as light, except those of the Princesses of Heart. Their hearts lack the oblivion, which makes them Princesses of Heart. Because they are so full of light, they can never fall for the sins of the heart, seduction and thoughts of murder among them. They can never become Heartless."

Naminé looked rather miserable for a moment, then looked up. "I met the three teenagers. I went on the train in Twilight Town."

"Naminé!" DiZ exclaimed. "You know how dangerous it is to leave this place!"

"I had to…I had to see for myself. See if Roxas is back, see what had happened now that he has stepped into the _real_ Twilight Town," the blonde teenager admitted. "I was sitting on the train, drawing Riku, when this girl came in. We started talking, then her friends came into the train car. They were talking about Roxas."

"Indeed…"

"DiZ," Naminé said slowly. "What I…I know this isn't as important but I thought it was strange. He's teaching her how to fight."

"What? Who?"

"Roxas. Roxas is teaching Kairi how to fight. I was listening to them. One of them said that if Sora doesn't come back soon, she's going to leave Twilight Town and find him."

"Always knew that girl was stubborn," DiZ chuckled. "Stubborn and strong. She never believed she was but her heart can handle what most can't. It's actually quite entertaining, watching the Princess of Heart take control for once."

Naminé nodded. "You're saying she's breaking out of her role as the Princess…and fulfilling the other role she has yet to discover."

Her pencil was now moving over the cleaned sheet of paper but she wasn't even looking at it.

"Yes…but whether or not Roxas will help her discover it is the question. If she's somehow attracted to him because of who he is compared to Sora, that is a curious matter. So curious, so very curious…there is something odd at work here." DiZ's secret side was beginning the surface, the curious one.

"Balance the imbalance," Naminé heard herself say. "A heart and no heart. Existence and nothingness. Perhaps that's how it is."

"You sound envious, Naminé," DiZ said with amusement. "I wonder why. Tell me…what do you feel about Roxas?"

"Roxas?" Naminé looked at him, startled. "Why are you asking me this?"

"You question my choice," DiZ thought aloud. "Then is it Sora you think of?"

"I-I don't think about anyone!" Naminé exclaimed, flustered and embarrassed by the man's suggestions. "I-I'm just someone in existence, in bare existence, a witch who can change memories, not…not a person with a heart. I can't feel for anyone. I can't…_like_ another person."

"Naminé, you are Kairi's shadow," DiZ said. "The only difference was that her heart was not there when you were born, but you are not so different from her. Not completely. In a sense, you are her shadow in every aspect…except her heart could not be tainted."

"A shadow of her every being…except I can never touch her heart. But what does that make me in context to everybody else? She doesn't really need me at all…does she?" Maybe that explained the jealousy she felt when Axel told her about Roxas and Kairi. She was a part of Kairi…a cast-off in the literal sense.

"She does…but something's gone wrong," DiZ affirmed. "You are connected to her…and she is not complete. Unlike Sora, she is not completed. But of course that brings up the question of Roxas's return to Twilight Town. Does that mean Sora is incomplete again?"

"I think there's something else at work, DiZ. Something's different about Roxas," Naminé stated. "Axel said he smelled different. He doesn't smell like Sora anymore."

DiZ fell silent abruptly. He stared at Naminé for a long moment, then at her drawing pad, then began pacing the room. She watched him carefully, wondering what he was going to do.

"…keep talking with Axel, Naminé," DiZ finally declared. "Tell him to watch the two closely. And whatever he tells you…relate it to me. I need to know what's going on. Roxas shouldn't become that attached to Kairi, and you shouldn't be feeling jealousy. Something's happening and I'm going to find out how and why."

He strode out of the room, with Naminé watching his back until he vanished down the hall. Then she sighed and looked at her drawing pad. She stared.

Sunset. A sunset across the sea. A white beach. Silhouettes of three figures. One was looking at the sunset across the sea. One was looking up at the heavens. One was standing somewhere between them, head tilted towards the stargazer.

And above their heads were three shooting stars.

**Author's Endnote:** Good? Bad? Commentary? I'm open to all. Please review. I'd love to hear something from you, the reader. Yes, feel free to feel special.


	8. A Matter of Questions

**Author's Note:** Summer in one week! Then I'll be able to write more! Yes! There's not much to say about this chapter except it's long and has some quote moments unquote, and carries the mark of a retard who can't properly label things because she won't play _Kingdom Hearts II_. Heh, bear with me in that aspect, thanks. And for your information, we are far from the middle of the story, so don't expect anything spectacular yet. And damn those houseflies.

**Copyrights:** All characters, settings, and the back story belong to Square-Enix and Disney. The storyline is mine.

**A Walk In Andante**

**8 – A Matter of Questions**

"What do you want?" Roxas demanded, rising to his feet, tensing just in case.

"Answers," Axel said smoothly. "What do you expect from someone who thought he lost his best friend forever?"

"Are you still chasing the past?"

"I wish," the redhead admitted, leaning against the wall. "Nice blue globe right there. I bet it reminds you of her eyes."

Roxas raised an eyebrow at this offhand remark but he colored slightly just the same. Axel looked at him, smiling like a cat. Like the Cheshire Cat. Sora's memories were starting to resurface.

"What do you know about her?" Roxas asked slowly, carefully. "Why are you mentioning her?"

He noticed how Axel's brilliant green eyes hardened.

"You shouldn't be with her," Axel said bluntly. "You know you shouldn't."

The answer came, faint in the darkness of the room. The light of the twilit sky doesn't always reach in through the darkness of certain places.

"I know."

"Then why are you still with her?" Axel suddenly snapped. Roxas backed off immediately. But then the words sank into his mind and he came back, bristling.

"Who said I can't?" he hissed at his former friend.

Axel watched him, his face impassive. "More people than you think."

To those standing under the window that night, they must have wondered at the brilliant white flash exploding out of the shut window.

Axel did nothing while staring down the length of the glowing Oathkeeper. Instead he looked at the face of the former member of the Organization, whose face was contorted in a rage. He was breathing hard, his eyes flashing. The Oathkeeper quivered but Axel didn't back off.

"What are you doing, Roxas?" Axel said calmly, not at all bothered by the weapon. "Roxas, put that weapon down."

"You've been stalking me," he hissed. "And you've been talking to…to them. Why?"

"You aren't supposed to be here, Roxas-"

"I didn't ask to have people talk about me behind my back! Who said you could talk to them about me?"

"Roxas! Listen to me!" Axel didn't budge but he seemed to be drawing nearer. Roxas bit his lip and stood fast against him. "You aren't supposed to be here. You know that. Several months ago you chose to give yourself up to merge with Sora and become whole. What a privilege that was, compared to the shit we're dealing with right now, and yet here you are! What are you doing here?"

"I-I don't know," the blond teenager whispered. "I just…I just came here. I don't know how it happened."

"You're not supposed to be here, Roxas," Axel repeated. "You need to go back. You can't stay in this world, in this reality anymore. People who no longer exist should…remain that way."

"And this coming from the one chasing our friendship, even if it died off long ago," Roxas hissed.

"You're mocking me, aren't you?"

"I'm through, Axel. I'm through with everything. I'm sick and tired of this life. Of being a Nobody, a Non-Existent One, someone's shadow. I want to live…like a normal person. I want to live…like I have a heart. For once."

"Is that why you're all lovey-dovey over Sora's girl?" Axel demanded. "The closer you are to the one he loves, the closer you think you can get to a heart? What the hell's going through your mind?"

The Oathkeeper was shaking but it was still in his face.

"I am _not_ going 'lovey-dovey' over Sora's _girl_, if that's how you put it," Roxas retorted, but the conviction in his voice was gone. "I'm not…"

His voice died away and he lowered the Oathkeeper slowly, until it touched the floor. He looked at his right hand, at the Oblivion, then at Axel. He looked lost, hopelessly lost.

"Roxas," Axel said softly, "what you're feeling is a shadow of Sora's love. You are a part of Sora. In a sense, you're a reflection of him. That's what you're feeling, what you're doing. Basically if we replace you with Sora, it's all normal. It'll be all right."

"But I'm not Sora," Roxas began stoutly.

"Yeah, and our dear dead friend Zexion ain't Ienzo," Axel said sarcastically. "Get real, Roxas. You're a Nobody. I'm a Nobody. Naminé's a Nobody. Even…Marluxia's a Nobody! Everybody in our little gang is a Nobody…except for the ones that died – which includes Marluxia, of course - and DiZ, who's not even part of the gang to begin with. Heck, Naminé isn't part of the gang either…"

Roxas took a deep breath, let the head of the Oblivion swing down and hit the floor. Axel's head whipped towards the sound.

"I won't be Sora's other half," Roxas hissed. "I won't!"

"Good luck with that one," Axel snapped back. "You resemble him, you have his weapons, his stance, his 'other' behavior…in a sense, you could be his twin. But you also don't have a heart. And yet you're not a Heartless. Therefore you're a Nobody. And nothing can change that."

A train whistled in the distance following the last echoes of Axel's words. Roxas cocked his head towards the train whistle.

"Sora's shadow has his own experiences, too," Roxas whispered.

"Sora's visited the other side of his heart before, your side," Axel countered. "Castle Oblivion. You also know what happened months ago."

"I know. It's just that…they still remembered me…nobody forgot me. And…and they're _my_ friends. Twilight Town is _my_ home. Everything…and everyone…here, they're my experiences, my knowledge, my…memories…"

He drifted off. Axel watched as Roxas slowly went to his desk, willing his Keyblades away in the process. The teenager looked down at the table, then picked something up.

"…if all I'm feeling is a shadow of Sora's love…" Roxas said as he held up a necklace before the glowing blue globe, "…is it real? Or is it a lie?"

Axel stared at the necklace. When he finally decided to answer, he said, "That's the one thing I can't tell you. That's for you to decide."

"Axel?"

"What?"

"What am I feeling? When I think about her, I feel so weird…all warm and melting…is that a feeling? An emotion? Is that Sora's feelings about Kairi?" Roxas asked, looking to Axel for an answer.

Axel stared at Roxas, tried to comprehend the question directed towards him. Then he saw something different in those eyes. A faint shimmer of hope.

_Roxas wants to know if he has to remain a Nobody forever. Why would he ask such a question?_

And then Axel came across the answer.

_Kairi. He's thinking about Kairi._

And he became angry.

"You're a shadow of Sora and all you can ever feel for her is what Sora feels for her, so don't even think you can love her because not only are you incapable of love, somebody else loves her. Somebody she loves back."

Axel didn't want to look at Roxas's face. He turned around, summoned a portal, and stepped through it. He was seeing red, absolute vivid red.

He needed to pull them apart. Naminé knew this. But Roxas was willing to shove the Keyblade in his face. Things were going to be harder than he thought. A lot harder than they thought.

''

Kairi knew the moment she came face to face with Roxas the next day that there had been some trouble. It was hard to distinguish between his normal facial expressions and his inner thoughts but she suddenly picked up this vibe, this _knowing_ that told her something was bothering him immensely.

"Hayner?" she asked the other blond teenager softly, "what were you talking to him about?"

"…what's that?" he demanded. He had been busy finding the passing tram a very interesting object of study. Then again, she realized that he was avoiding Roxas. He hadn't even looked at Roxas since this morning.

"Yeah, what's with you guys?" Olette agreed, jumping into the conversation. "What were you guys talking about?"

Hayner looked at Olette, then at Roxas, then back to Olette. But it was Roxas who answered. "Minor stuff, especially how fast I should teach Kairi. Why?"

"'cuz you two look like you've been in a catfight or something," Pence blurted before licking at his sea salt popsicle stick; he had bought one on the way to the hideout and was still eating it as they headed for the arena.

Roxas shook his head. "No fights." Pence looked at Hayner but Hayner was shaking his head, too. Finally Pence gave up with a shrug.

Although Hayner finally loosened up and started chatting with Olette and Pence about some announcements on a billboard at the Tram Plaza, Roxas remained aloof and silent. Kairi, stuck between the bustling trio and the brooding teenager, finally decided to approach Roxas about yesterday.

"Roxas?" she asked, stopping momentarily to wait for him to catch up. He looked at her but said nothing. "Roxas, what happened yesterday?"

His blue eyes were duller than usual, she thought. And his pout was more pronounced than before. He may very well look contemplative but there was a dark vibe coming off of him, staining the air around him.

He looked at her and shook his head. He didn't want to talk. Kairi sighed and knew it was somewhat hopeless pressing the matter. She turned to follow the others, then was abruptly yanked backwards into him. Roxas hugged her tightly from behind; she could feel the side of his face pressed against her head. Kairi froze.

"I'm sorry," she heard him whisper into her ear, so softly only she could hear. "I'm sorry…"

"For what?" she asked quietly, while the trio vanished around a corner, blatantly forgetting about them.

She could feel Roxas burying his head in her hair, something that left her strangely relaxed and at the same time…she didn't know what the feeling was. She felt her heart tremble, race inside her breast, as something she never knew was there stirred in a pit in her stomach. She was glad Roxas was holding her; her knees were shaking and she didn't know why.

"Nothing…"

_I don't get it. What is he talking about?_

There was something about Roxas's randomness that just appealed to her but it irritated her just the same. "Roxas, what are you talking about?"

People were starting to stare at them. She wondered if they rarely saw teenagers holding each other in such an intimate embrace as this.

_Intimate…how do they see us? What do they see us as?_

"Roxas?" she whispered when he didn't let go. "Roxas, we have to get to the others."

His response was the hold her even tighter. She would have lapsed into silence if she hadn't started imagining Pence's camera flashing everywhere. And when she thought 'everywhere', she meant everywhere.

"Roxas?" She moved her arms up, touched his as they clung around her waist. She tapped at his arms. "Roxas, let go. We have to get to the others."

She didn't wait for him to respond, started unlatching each finger. She found herself reluctant to pull away from his presence but she really didn't have a choice; she also noticed the disproval on many people's faces, including that of a middle-aged woman followed – she looked like she was being followed – by a flock of local pigeons and a man in his prime who wore a long trench coat with a high collar and very reflective sunglasses. She knew he was watching them and the look on his face was enough.

"Roxas, they're looking at us," she hissed, dropping her voice to a bare whisper.

"I know," came the hushed response and she shivered at the hot air's tickling touch. "I know…"

She felt his arms slide away and his presence left. Resisting the urge to rub at the area around her waist, she instead ran a hand through her hair. She looked at Roxas and knew she was blushing. Thankfully he was looking elsewhere. More like glaring, actually; more people were starting to find the passing tram quite interesting. All except the woman with the pigeons and the man with the sunglasses. Kairi found herself studying the man; she rarely saw people with such a flamboyant red hair color…except Axel, of course.

Axel…how she hated that name. He must have thought it to be a joyously sick joke to entice her into following him to Twilight Town with false hopes of being reunited with Sora, only to dump her on three teenagers who knew a bit of what was going on but were traumatized as hell that a girl just walked in on them through a wall. And although she did meet Sora – it was a joyous reunion, she recalled with surprising difficulty – she never expected to stay longer in Twilight Town with Hayner, Olette, and Pence. And that led to Roxas.

Now Kairi looked fully at the blond teenager, felt a contemplative shift in her flushing face. She knew what she was feeling now, she was sure of it. Perhaps it was because of his resemblance to Sora, something that tied the two together so that she felt the same way about Roxas as she did Sora. But of course, that could never be. Did Roxas know?

_Sora and I are connected through our hearts, through the light we share. But if that's true…then what am I feeling now? I used to think about the boy who made a promise to me a year ago…but now…now it's all about…you. No promises, no connections, no familiarity other than appearance, nothing to tie us together yet…yet its there. Maybe it's because you like me. I know you like me. It's ridiculous to think otherwise. But…do I like you?_

She was referring to Roxas.

And she had no idea.

''

Fuu, for once, was alone. No Seifer, no Rai, no Vivi. She was by herself. Then again, she had yet to make it to their meeting place. And yet she felt so uncomfortable being alone. She rubbed her arm nervously and looked around. She hated having the feeling that someone was watching her, following her, stalking her. That happened once before, when she looked back every so often and kept seeing the same person. She didn't know who the perpetrator was, though; the person was covered in black and wore a hood.

She hadn't seen that person in months but now she was getting the same feeling again. Eyes on her. The silver-haired girl looked around but she didn't see a lot of people in the Tram Plaza. And even if there were people, nobody paid any attention to her.

Fuu stopped to let the tram pass before crossing the street, then noticed all the way across the plaza two very familiar people walking towards a corner of another street. She cocked her head, realized it was Roxas and that new girl, the one who had beaten up Seifer the first time they ran into the two together. Strange how attached they seem to be to each other; Fuu had been around Twilight Town unnoticed and she had spotted them together on more occasions than one. And usually Roxas didn't hang around with one person like that all the time.

Something twisted in her stomach and Fuu turned away. She had to deny herself, deny accepting the uncomfortable feeling she felt whenever she saw that blond teenager. Seifer would kill her, Rai would make fun of her, and Vivi would…just shrug in that hopeless way.

Yes, she did like Roxas. She's had a small hidden crush on the teenager for a while now. And she did absolutely nothing, instead denying her feelings. It would be awkward, if not downright weird, and if people knew…

Her eyes caught the massive form of a man in a trench coat and high collar striding towards yet another street. Suddenly overwhelmed by curiosity – a trench coat? – Fuu decided to follow the man. She ran in the direction the man went, weaving through the locals who were either shopping or just walking around waiting for the tram to come again to take them elsewhere.

"Excuse me…excuse me…pardon…" she mumbled under her breath as she pushed through the people. Was it just her or were there more people in the plaza all of a sudden?

She crossed the street and turned a corner. Up ahead was the man in the upturned collar. He was facing what looked like an alley and she could tell by the gestures he made that he was talking. But to whom was he speaking? Fuu inched closer, ducked in with some people walking up the street, and snuck in as close as possible.

"…he's been at," someone was saying. "…no, I'm not sure, but it seemed to me that-"

"If they are interfering we can't do anything about it," another voice cut in. There _was_ someone in the alley! Fuu tried to peer in without looking suspicious but she saw nothing in the shadows. "You know what we know…didn't she tell you?"

"…said we've changed it. But it's not going as planned. She can't see."

"Don't kill them anyways…they're all important then…find a way…"

"You sure that would sever it?"

"The heart is a mysterious thing…"

A sudden influx of people. Fuu stumbled, tossed about by the rushing bodies, and suddenly everything was clear. Now there were only three or four people on the sidewalk.

The man and the voice were gone.

''

"Again!"

Kairi breathed deeply, then held up her blue bat. She tensed up, watching, waiting. Then Roxas came at her again, executing the same five steps as before. It took all her reflexes to block the blows, then she jumped back when he suddenly lashed out at her side.

"Much better," he declared, his voice ragged. He cleared his throat, then took several steps back. Her muscles here aching, her hands slick with sweat. Kairi wiped at her forehead, felt even more tired after that simple action. She wished Roxas would give her a break. The last one was over an hour ago. The clock tower told them so.

"Can't we…"

He shook his head. "Watch yourself."

He suddenly bolted towards her, bat swinging. At the last moment, Kairi threw herself to the side, rolled on her shoulder into a crouching position, and brought up the bat to block his. They stared at each other for a few seconds and she could feel him weaken slightly. With a grimace, she pushed him back and jumped to her feet, then he came at her with the same repetitive five steps again. Suddenly he swung at her feet and she jumped back. The bat hit her left foot, though, and she stumbled onto the floor. She sat there, surprised.

_What's wrong with him? It's like he wants to beat me into the ground…_

She grimaced at the shocks of pain coursing through her, then raised her right hand and ran it through her sweaty hair in frustration. It was only the second day and he was already pushing her to the limit.

"Are you going to give up?" Roxas asked. He sounded distant, aloof.

"No, of course not!" she snarled, grabbed her bat, and climbed back to her feet. Was he taunting her? "Bring it on!"

Words, though, did nothing for her strength. She was a millisecond too slow and watched as her blue bat went flying off to the side. She looked at the bat hopelessly as it rolled on its side and smacked an extra bat. Then she slowly looked at the round end of the blue bat pointed at her face, and the one holding it. Roxas was watching her, one eyebrow raised. She was glad there was no trace of "I told you so" on his face. He was just telling her to go get the bat.

She ran to a spare bat, picked it up, then spun around just in time to duck the swing at her head. Dropping low, she went for his legs and he danced to the side. She had to be faster than this! She took a step forward with another swing but again he eluded it.

"C'mon!" he called out the next time she swung and missed. "Kairi, you know you can do better than that!"

Oh how she wanted to swing her bat and not meet air! She ran at him again but at the last second, she ducked and swung her bat into his knee. She might have gotten away with it if she hadn't stumbled and her legs given way; like it or not her exhaustion was getting the best of her. Her weight fell with the bat and she knocked him down onto the ground. For an eternity she lay there sprawled on top of him, fighting her breathing, while the world seemed to spin above her. She swallowed, tasted nothing but her dry mouth, and wished desperately that she was on Destiny Islands again, where there was that freshwater spring to throw herself into. Or better yet, the ocean, although she knew better than to try and drink out of it. If it ain't too salty, then some animal was defecating in it.

She closed her eyes and was instantly aware of her rapid heartbeat and the aching in her limbs. It was a numbing pain; it hurt but at the same time it didn't hurt. Slowly she opened her hand and the blue bat slid out onto the ground. It was hot; she could feel the throb of her hot pulsing blood but she found comfort in the warm ground and the heat radiating from Roxas's body.

"That…was much…better…" she heard him say. He spoke each word forcefully, as though the wind had been knocked completely out of him and had yet to find its way back. "Kairi…get off of me…"

She smiled, didn't move at all.

"…hey, did you hear me…hello?"

"You're staying put until I get all the rest I need," she stated, feeling her grin grow wider. "Break was more than an hour ago. I'll move when I'm good and ready."

She heard an exasperated sigh escape from his mouth.

"…damn it…"

She decided to annoy him further by making herself quite comfortable on top of him, much like a cat snuggling up on someone's stomach. Roxas groaned and muttered darkly.

"…this is embarrassing…"

"…shut up…"

In fact, she felt sleepy. She couldn't tell – who could? – but she didn't even bother to see if she could open her eyes; her eyelids felt heavy and cumbersome and she didn't want to tire herself out by opening them…she could feel his chest rise and fall with each breath…matching with her own…a steady beat…steady, steady, steady…

''

_She was falling. Air was gently rushing past her ear but she wasn't dropping like a stone. She was floating…and suddenly her perception of the world warped and she was gently landing on something, feet first. A slight pressure and she was on the floor. _

_Kairi opened her eyes._

_Above her was a murky light. She cocked her head, stared up at it, saw how it shimmered like the surface of the water. Under the surface of the water._

_She looked around, at the inky darkness and the faint bluish light from above. She was standing on a floor but she couldn't tell what it was. She took a step forward._

_Doves everywhere. Carriers of light, feathers exploding all around her. She threw her arms up before her face, blocked out the blinding light as wind rushed past her in a flurry of wings. Then the air stopped stirring and she slowly lowered her arms. The last dove fluttered up towards the light and then it dimmed into the darkness. But she could feel the light glowing on her face. The light from the floor._

_She tilted her head curiously, stared at the stained glass design. It was bizarre; the floor was a perfect circle. Within were several more circles, forming a ring around a center circle. Kairi inched cautiously towards the center, saw that within was a dark silhouette of two people. They looked like they were hugging each other. She cocked her head to the other side but that didn't really help; they were as anonymous to her as ever. Then she looked at the circles. More silhouettes-wait. In the endless ring of linked circles, light was radiating from some of them. She headed towards them and felt her jaw drop in astonishment._

"_That's Hayner…Olette…Pence…Axel!" What was that man doing in this weird world? "And…Sora…and those four people who picked on Roxas…but where's Roxas? Where's Riku? Where's…me?"_

_One of the circles was glowing dimly. She walked to it, saw that it was a shadow more than a silhouette, a shadow with details. She narrowed her eyes, saw inky black lines etching into the shadow, creating the likeness of a young woman. Someone her age. But she couldn't tell who it was._

_And on the other side…_

"_That's King Mickey…Donald…Goofy…but I don't understand. What's going on here?"_

_She looked around but there was nothing more. Absolutely nothing._

_Kairi sighed and sank to her knees at the center circle. Her eyes studied the silhouettes of the two people, wondering if she knew them already or will know them. And if she was to know them, what sort of impact would they have on her? _

…never, ever forget…

_Kairi looked up. "Who's there?"_

…what's left of me…

_She slowly rose to her feet and looked around. Nobody. She was alone. Could the voice be her imagination…or something more?_

…I've waited here for you…

"_Who are you? Please, tell me who you are!"_

…underneath the pretty blue sky, we slept forever…

_She didn't like the voice. It sounded horrid, absolutely horrid. She didn't like what it was saying and wished it would just shut up._

…it's hard to say, it's time to say it…

"_Oh my god…just shut up, please…" The voice seemed louder, closer. Kairi looked around her, pressed her limbs against her, tried to appear small and overlooked, but it didn't help. She _was_ the only one._

…whatever lies beyond this morning…

"_Just shut up…please…" She felt so helpless, lost in this eerie darkness, with the only light coming up from the floor. She was alone. All alone._

…I'm just alone, destiny forgotten…

"_Please…" She could feel the tears rolling down her face. She wiped at them hurriedly but more followed. "Please…stop it…just stop it…please…"_

…you will know that you're not dreaming…

_All these voices, speaking meaningless, haunting words, whispering from the darkness around her, pounding on her, never ceasing, never ending. She had no idea what was going on, what the voices were saying, but she wished desperately that they would stop._

…how much pain must you endure…

_Something cold crept up her lower legs. Kairi looked down and screamed as inky blackness swamped her feet and began crawling up her legs. She pulled away but the material was sticky and thick; she fell over, and tried to get up again. The darkness began wrapping loops around her thighs and her waist, pinning her down. She cried out, struck at the blackness but they instead wrapped around her wrists and pulled her arms down. She watched as they sank into the growing sea. The light was going out._

…the greater your shadow becomes…

"_What shadow?" she screamed. "What shadow!"_

…your heart will be unable to feel…

_Her breath was caught. She froze, didn't know why, but couldn't shake the ominous feeling out of her. There was something about the words, about _heart_. Was the voice trying to tell her something about the heart? But what?_

_Then she screamed. A thick black loop suddenly appeared in her sight…and then her sight was gone. She felt herself sinking, felt the murky thick liquid swallow her whole._

…to conquer the darkness, you must find the light within…

_Did this have something to do with her being a Princess of Heart?_

…when faced with despair, have hope…

_What hope? This was a nightmare! She could feel the chill again, the horrid cold the Heartless spread as it tried to reach her heart. She began to scream again, cried for someone's attention, for someone to save her, but she knew no one was there to save her._

…remember: You are not alone. Never alone…

_Someone was calling her name. Someone was calling for her to reach…for what? Suddenly her right hand broke free of its restraints and she threw it out wildly, waving it as she felt herself sink even deeper into the darkness. Then something enclosed around her hand, a strong grip that cut off her scream._

"_Don't worry. I'm here."_

_Who was that speaking? Sora? Roxas? Perhaps…Riku? She couldn't tell._

"_Don't leave me," she whispered, as she felt the cold arm of the darkness wrap around her face._

"_I'll always be by your side."_

_And she saw light._

**Author's Endnote:** Just a thought. Organic milk tastes really clean. Other then that, I think this chapter kind of got stupid near the end so I'm sorry if it did to you. Review?


	9. In the Open Shadows

**Author's Note:** Retarded site wouldn't upload the document yesterday but that's not the point. So...do YOU know how to TANGO? Great, now I got to go fix the outline I set up for this story…okay, back. So I decided I need something to get my creative juices going so I can get more of AWIA done, some of my other stuff done, and finish up this one damn Roxiri fanart that's taking ages. I shall update this story twice this week. Happy? I hope so. Enjoy!

**Copyrights**: The characters, settings, and back story belong to Square-Enix and Disney. The storyline is mine as well as some new faces that will be showing up from here on. Guess who!

**A Walk In Andante**

**9 – In the Open Shadows**

They had been waiting at the Freaky Planet for close to five hours but Hayner still hadn't come back yet. Five hours! Where was Hayner? How could he ever get lost wandering around Twilight Town? Hayner lost? That was too ridiculous to even consider thinking about!

"How hard is it to find them?" Pence grumbled through his second virgin margarita. He poked at his drink while Olette sat thinking, her hands clasped around the tall iced coffee. They were at the bar in the Freaky Planet, away from the people dancing to a tango piece.

"Roxas knows as much about Twilight Town as Hayner," Olette decided to say. "Probably hiding from him or something…"

Pence nodded, then took a long sip. He pulled away from the neon green straw and grimaced. "I hate brain freeze."

"That's why you don't drink so much so fast, you idiot," Olette said quite calmly. "Tango?"

"No! Of course not!" the black-haired boy retorted. "You mad, woman? I ain't doing tango with anyone! That dance is too-too-too sexual!"

Olette snorted. That was hard to believe, coming from Pence. She then tapped at the edge of the tall tinted glass with her chin, thinking a bit. Then it came to her that she could teach someone how to tango. Namely…Kairi.

"Let's teach Kairi how to tango," Olette blurted out happily. "Then we'll take her to a dance club, like I said we should have days ago."

"What, tango with you?" he asked. "I thought men tangoed with women and vice versa, not women and women-"

"Bigot," she snorted and took another sip. "Let's teach Kairi how to tango. And then you and Roxas and Hayner."

"WHAT!" Pence yelled. "I am not going to tango!"

"No, no, no," Olette said with a shake of her head. "You don't need to dance in public. I just want you to learn so that you can help me teach Roxas. And then all four of us can gang up on Hayner, you know…"

Something truly evil flashed in her green eyes. And Pence grinned.

"I like what you're thinking," he said with a smug smile. "I ought to record the whole thing."

"Yeah, and then…" Olette was thinking about forcing Roxas and Kairi to tango – she thought they really were cute together, despite the fact that Sora was very much alive and well acquainted with most of them – but then that thought just melted away.

"And then what?"

Olette didn't answer. She was staring into her glass of light cinnamon brown liquid, her eyes strangely vacant. Pence sighed. Not again! Not one of those weird episodes Olette had been having lately! That girl would just drift off and start daydreaming about that stupid drawing in the middle of anything, anywhere, whenever, wherever!

"It's that drawing, isn't it?" he demanded with a scowl. It had to be. There was nothing else he knew of that would shut Olette up like that.

The brunette shook her head, finally seemed to become aware of him. "No…just thinking."

"About the drawing."

"No, not the drawing."

"Then what?"

"…everything else."

"What does that mean?"

Olette sighed, then said, "I feel something's wrong. Something's not right…but I don't know what it is. Don't you feel it?"

Pence shrugged. "I don't know. I don't feel anything."

"That's because you're thickheaded," Olette muttered.

"What?"

"Nothing, Pence. Calm down."

He glared at her but she ignored the look. "Where's Hayner? It's been more than five hours, nearly six hours, and he's still not here? Where did he go?"

"He might have already known of your evil plan to teach him so maybe he just ditched us for the day," Pence suggested.

"In that case, let's go after him," Olette decided. "No use waiting around for him to show-Hayner!"

She waved wildly at the entrance, where a familiar blond teenager appeared.

Hayner headed towards them quickly, his face contorted in worry and frustration.

"Did you find them?" Olette asked as he sat down at the bar.

"I would've if I remembered where the arena was," he scowled. "I was headed for the arena, I'm sure, and suddenly I forgot where it was. How does that happen?"

"You forgot where the Struggle Tournament arena is?" Pence demanded in disbelief. "My god!"

"And you'd better believe it!" Hayner snapped back. He banged his head against the counter. "I don't know what's wrong with me…"

"You're not alone," Pence hissed loudly. "Olette's daydreaming about that drawing that weird girl let her have. Again."

"I heard that!"

"What, that Naminé girl?" Hayner questioned, raising his head immediately. His brown eyes sparked with interest. "That drawing?"

"Yeah, the one Olette's been obsessed with since forever," Pence confirmed. "I mean, that person's not even real-"

"Is, too!" Olette barked, then drained her glass of the iced coffee while Hayner and Pence stared at her.

"Do I want to hear about this?" Hayner asked Pence quietly.

The black-haired boy shook his head. "Save your sanity, Hayner. Use it to find them. Let's go."

''

It was the cool breeze that woke her up. She was sure of it. It was a chilly touch, waking her out of the strange dream she was living in. She stirred slightly, kept her eyes tightly shut, as she tried to sink back into the blissful safety of dreams. She wouldn't mind sleeping forever.

She felt a slight pressure on the left side of her face, a warm touch tracing her jaw line, a soft caress that left her feeling so much safer than she could ever be. The world seemed right; no danger, no fear, no anger, no lies, no despair, they all seemed to melt away in the cocoon of warmth.

She shifted again, pressing the right side of her face against heated fabric. The air seemed to be cooling; she didn't like it and continued pressing against the warmth surrounding her. And then she heard him.

"Hey…you awake?"

_Don't worry. I'm here._

The same voice. And suddenly the vividness of the dream came rushing back to her, the flurry of doves, the eerie stained glass, the arms of darkness…

"…don't…" she whispered, felt the fear again. "…don't leave me…not again…please…"

She didn't know whom she was addressing. Maybe she didn't have to know.

A warm, firm touch caressed her cheek, calming the fear inside her heart.

"I'm not going to leave you."

_I'll always be by your side._

Who was it? Sora or Roxas? She didn't know. She was afraid to know. But she had to find out.

"Sora?" she whispered. But as soon as the name slipped through her mouth she knew she was wrong.

"No…it's Roxas."

_Roxas…not Sora. Roxas. It's you. Always…you. I haven't thought of it before but it's true. It seems like it wherever I go…you're there. Always there. How strange is that? We haven't known each other for that long…but it feels like I've known you forever. Forever…_

"…okay…" she whispered with a tired smile.

"Kairi," she heard him say, "Kairi, get up. It's been hours. We should go."

Hours? Go where? From where?

"C'mon, Kairi. Time to get up."

She felt him sliding his arms around her, pulling her up into a sitting position. She swayed at the lightheadedness and he pulled her against his shoulder. She leaned against him, waited until the dizziness faded, then opened her eyes.

The sky was noticeably darker and all the street lamps were glowing in a rosy yellow light. Down one of the pathways to the arena, she could see people walking past on the sidewalk. There weren't a lot of people out.

"Evening," Roxas murmured. "Where do you want to go?"

"What?" She didn't get it.

"Well, we have to eat something, you know," he explained patiently. "There's an area in the shopping district, actually…there's a lot of cafes in that area. You wanna go?"

She shrugged. "I dunno…"

When he looked at her in puzzlement, she smiled cheerfully and stated, "I think I'm too lazy to move."

He laughed. She pulled away in surprise, watched him as he tried to smother it and fail. She had never expected him to laugh, couldn't have even _imagined_ him laughing. Well, he did now and then but this time…it just seemed different.

She smiled. She loved his laughter.

After some time passed, they were still sitting there inside the arena, looking off into nowhere. They were silent. Kairi didn't feel like she had to say anything. She felt like she never had to say anything, because he would understand, no matter what.

He finally rose to his feet. He brushed at his pants, then turned to her and held out his hand. She didn't hesitate before taking it and letting him help her stand as well. Roxas didn't let go, though. He started pulling her towards the street, where there were people still walking.

"Where are we going?" she asked curiously.

"If we don't run into them, the shopping district. If we do run into them, I have no…idea…"

He came to a stop at the Tram Plaza. "Well…no point turning back now, is there?"

She could see them across the plaza from them. Hayner and Olette appeared to be bickering over something, while Pence dashed here and there, peering at windows of the local stores and at one of the announcement boards placed at random throughout the plaza. She hoped he wasn't the first to see them.

"Hey, Sakusen, get back here!"

Someone bolted from right behind her and Kairi jumped into Roxas as a teenager dashed towards the middle of the Tram Plaza. The next thing she knew, two more teenagers ran past her, intent on catching the first one, the one up ahead.

"Hurry up, Reino!" somebody yelled, then Pence yelled as the first teenager didn't make a quick enough turn and ran into him. The teenager, a boy about her age, leaped to his feet and kept running. Pence sat up and yelled after him, shaking a fist in his direction.

"Get back here, you great-dirty-great-stupid-bastard!"

She could hear Olette laughing as someone else – this 'Reino', perhaps? – said, "He's getting away, Kitsuna!"

"You think I don't know that, you great son of a…"

Normalcy slowly returned to the Tram Plaza as the onlookers looked at each other, shrugged, and continued about with their business. Hayner and Olette rushed to Pence, who had murder written all over his face.

"Kairi?" Roxas said quite slowly. "You can let go now."

"What-oh…sorry," Kairi muttered as she released his arm. But then she felt herself seeking his hand, holding it tightly. He intertwined his fingers with hers and looked at her with a slight smile. She felt her face heat up but she returned it with her own just the same.

_It does feel like I've known you forever. I wish I knew why…_

"…bunch of hooligans…"

"Pence, just shut up."

They sounded closer but then the tram stopped and unloaded a mass of people that flooded the emptiness in between. Roxas seemed to take the cue, pulling her into the crowd so that they could get lost in the flow and escape his friends…

"I swear, they were just here! I saw them!" Pence again! Will that boy ever shut up?

"Where did they go? Where the hell did they go?" Hayner growled.

"Would you give it up for once, Hayner? It sounds like you're in love with her or something!"

_Hayner likes me? What! That's just wrong…ugh, sometimes I really wish I wasn't born pretty…wait, yes I do. Damn it, I hate it when this happens…_

"I am not in love with her! I swear I'm not! I-"

"Roxas! Kairi! Over here!"

Olette! She jumped right in front of them with a grin.

"Guess what!" she sang. Roxas froze in place. Kairi looked at her curiously, wondering what she had in mind.

Hayner was watching Olette with apprehension but Pence – where did that camera come from! – was trying to hide his laughter behind the camera. Kairi had a feeling the two – Olette and Pence, that is - were in some sort of conspiracy plot of sorts or something.

"What?" Roxas asked slowly, carefully.

"You know how to tango?"

That did it. Pence laughed uproariously, sitting down on the plaza grounds and holding his sides while Hayner leaped back from Olette like she was the devil.

"What!" he shouted. "Woman, what the hell's on your mind!"

Kairi didn't get it.

"What's tango?" she whispered to Roxas, who, it turned out, was equally perplexed.

"Maybe she'll explain it to us," he whispered back.

"Tango is a form of dance. People do it at dance clubs all the time, depending on what music's playing," Olette said. "It's very _intimate_, if you want me to describe it that way."

"Which is why I have no idea why you asked that in the first place!" Hayner yelled. He obviously took major offense to this question since he was screaming each of his words out. And he was turning red. Kairi wondered if anybody else noticed it.

"Well I thought it would be cool if we teach it to Kairi before she leaves-"

"WE! Who said 'we'? I did not agree to this, Olette! What's wrong with-"

"Hey, Hayner," Pence chirped up. "You know how to tango?"

Hayner stuttered to a standstill. He was now quite visibly turning red.

"What about you?" Pence turned to Roxas, who shook his head. His blue eyes were wary of the next thing either Pence or Olette was going to say.

"Awesome, then I can teach all of you how to-"

"Olette, you are kidding, right?" Roxas interjected. "Please tell me you're kidding."

"Why would I?" Olette grinned. "When you go back home, Kairi, you can definitely show the kids there the moves. Hey, maybe you can teach _Sora_ how to tango, too."

Kairi blushed at the suggestion. She still hadn't gotten over what Olette said about tango: intimate.

_Sora…I haven't thought about you in a while. I haven't even thought about your voice…why? All I'm thinking about…is him._

"…what's that, Hayner?" Pence demanded, his voice breaking through her mangled thoughts. "Hayner, what did you say?"

"I…uh…" Hayner stared at his feet, shifted from one foot to the other. Olette and Roxas stared at him intently. "I…know how to tango…"

"What!" Olette yelled.

Kairi started laughing.

Roxas shook his head.

Pence's jaw dropped open.

Hayner glared at the four of them. "You really think that's funny?"

"Where'd you learn to tango?" Olette asked. She didn't believe him at all.

"I…um…my parents made me learn…they like to dance," Hayner muttered. He was obviously extremely embarrassed about it. "So…yeah, you don't need to teach me anything."

"Well great," Pence grumbled. "There goes your glorious plan, Olette. What's the fun in doing tango now?"

She jabbed a thumb in Kairi's direction, then pointed fingers at both him and Roxas. "I guess Hayner wins this one."

"You guys _were_ plotting something, I knew it!" Hayner yelled. "You guys were planning on forcing me to learn how to dance, huh, since I hate dance clubs! Nice try!"

Pence sighed. "Sigh…I knew tango was a bad idea…"

"You didn't know anything…"

Something poked at her side. Kairi twitched and looked at Roxas questioningly.

"Pointless?" he whispered.

"I don't dance," she answered. "Especially not the tango."

"Try convincing Olette," he said. "Good luck with that."

"But I don't dance!"

"That's not going to save you, just letting you know," Roxas said with a knowing smile.

Kairi sighed. "Just _what_ is the tango?"

It was just her luck that Olette overheard her. "I'll show you. Hayner?"

The blond teenager stared at her for a few seconds, then realized what she was going to do. "Oh hell no-"

She grabbed his hand and within seconds Kairi understood just what the tango was. Pence was applauding slowly, obviously still shocked over the fact that Hayner could dance, while Roxas started shifting from foot to foot.

"And that," Olette said while Hayner pulled her back into standing position, "is but a sample of the tango."

For all she knew, Kairi could faint.

_Dance like that? No way! I want to get out of here! Fighting and dancing all at once…no, no, no…I came here looking for Sora and the next thing I know I'm learning how to dance and fight so that if time comes, I can go after him and teach him to tango with me. That…just doesn't seem right._

Actually, nothing seemed right anymore.

_When I do go, what will become of…you?_

''

Fuu had been more than unusually quiet the whole day. The only word that he, Rai, and Vivi were able to get out of her was, "Hi." And that really wasn't much. Why wasn't Fuu talking? She didn't talk a lot but she did say more than a one-word greeting.

No matter. The day was over. Maybe tomorrow she'll be back to normal and they can all resume plotting on how to get back at Hayner's little group, that blond twerp named Roxas, and the new girl, the one Roxas hangs out with all the time now-great, there he goes, thinking about the new girl again. He hated it. He couldn't understand what it was the redhead was doing to him.

"Ugh, I hate this," Seifer muttered to himself as he headed towards the train station to take a train home to Sunset Residential District. "The only way to get back at Roxas is either whip his ass at a Struggle match or accuse him and his buddies but that girl…damn it, stop thinking about her!"

He muttered darkly as he stalked down a street, glaring at every teenager and kid who was still out and about this late in the day. They scattered.

Power was a glorious thing.

But as he passed by an alley, he heard something. No, not something. Someone. Someone was there, hiding in the alley, talking. A man. Was he talking to himself? Was he insane?

"I wonder…"

Seifer walked into the alley.

"…they've got the advantage. He's close enough to exert some sort of influence. He can pull them apart…don't know how it happened. They got the jump on us or something…not even supposed to exist…as long as the clipping's untouched…all the time in the world…"

Seifer crouched down low as he neared the voice. He saw a cluster of old, rusting trashcans and threw himself behind them. Then he peered over the edge, saw a tall figure in a inky cloak. The person was hooded.

Seifer was astonished when the man shifted and suddenly disappeared in the shadows. But then the man must have moved again, for there he was again, plain as day, just standing there. Who was he talking to? And if not who, then what was he talking to?

"…has she figured it out? Dammit, then what's obscuring it…look, I do not plan on playing guessing games and killing people who may be useful later on…no, absolutely not! And while we're at it…I see…oh really? Okay, then what about…dead. Well of course he's dead. Everybody's dead except for us!"

Seifer didn't know whether or not he should stay there. He remembered that weird man standing at the corner a while back, the one who said he wasn't going to kill without reason. Was he connected to this guy? If so, what were they planning to do? Why were they going to kill people-no, wait. They were talking about killing people but they also said they wouldn't depending on who the person was. But that made no sense? How would they know-

A hand rested on his shoulder, gripping it so tightly Seifer couldn't move, even if he wanted to. The scream never escaped his throat.

"I suggest you stay put while I finish this call, then I'll deal with you," the man said, his voice non-threatening but frightening all the same. "Yeah…you were right after all. So I've lost _my_ street smarts…shut up. Look, finish tracking down that wielder and go get the blade while I deal with the business here…if all goes well, we'll continue as planned. If you can't, go to the fields of dust…alright, I'll shut up. Hey, I planned this. I know what's going on…"

Seifer had no idea what the hell this man was saying. None of it made any sense whatsoever. Hell, he couldn't even begin to assume what the man was talking about. Maybe it was because he was scared shitless; the man had him in an iron grip and just moments ago he was talking about dead people.

"…make sure he keeps an eye on them. If that no-good meddlesome blockhead tries to sneak up on them again…no, stay off all trains. Should he return…yes. Okay. Tell him that. I'll get back to you later. We're shifting phases now so you'd better take note. Bye."

There was a slight mechanical click and Seifer knew he was done for.

"Stand up."

He had no choice but to obey. The man's hand tightened on his shoulder. His bones were being crushed. The man had an incredibly strong grip; Seifer wondered if it was possible for any human to be this strong.

Slowly he rose to his feet but the man yanked him up. Seifer grimaced at the pain.

"Turn around."

He did as told. And there he was, that man in the dark coat and the hood. Seifer blinked, then squinted. The man seemed fuzzy. His outline seemed to blend in with the shadows of the alley. Was it the cloak? Or was this man…not a man?

_Oh shit…_

"You have no idea, do you?" the man hissed, bringing his face close to Seifer. Funny. There was no nasty bloodcurdling breath in his face, no trace of breathing.

"I don't know what you're talking about," he answered coldly, trying to sound tough. But he knew he wasn't tough. He may very well piss in his pants right now. This man must be a ghost.

"No, you don't. All you've been hearing is gibberish, from me and my colleague," the man agreed. Seifer's eyes widened. He knew! "You have no idea what's going on right now, do you? I know you've been questioning but you have no idea. Not many people pick it up as fast as you do but you're still too slow. Not like your silver-haired friend. She knows something's up, hands down."

"What did you do to Fuu?" Seifer hissed. They're messing with his gang!

"Nothing. Because it's you we need to talk to."

"Me? What the hell do you want with me?" Seifer demanded. "I've been listening and I don't like what you're talking about. What is it about dead people, huh? You tell me that!"

The man was silent but the grip was as strong as ever.

"It's quite simple, if you'd like me to scare the living daylights out of you," the man said softly. "If all doesn't go as planned, you will be dead."

Seifer raised an eyebrow at this statement. "Stop joking with me. That's ridiculous."

"You think it's a joke? I know what's going to happen. In a few years there will be a nightmare, a holocaust of immeasurable proportions. Everything will be destroyed. Every living creature in this universe will be dead in a matter of years. Do you think I'm joking now?"

"How do you know what's going to happen in several years?" Seifer demanded. He was starting to sweat under his cap; this man was frightening him, whether it was the truth or not. "Nobody knows. You can't just go around blasting people with what you call the 'truth' about the future!"

"You know why I know this?" the man hissed. Seifer nearly cried out as the man's grip on his shoulder tightened once more. "Do you know why?"

"I don't need to know, you crazy man. Just let me go! I don't want to mess with the likes of you and your 'colleagues'!" Seifer snapped back. "Let me go!"

Abruptly the man did. Seifer had been tugging back on the vice grip but at release he fell down. He stared up at the man, whose hood was in his direction. Seifer swallowed nervously.

"It doesn't matter if you believe us or not but something will happen in a few years if we don't act now. That's why I need your help. You are the only qualified person who can help us."

"What makes me qualified?" Seifer demanded.

"Because you hate the blond-haired child," the man said.

Seifer stared. Roxas? What did Roxas have to do with these weird people?

"So what?"

"And that new girl, you like her, don't you?"

_Oh my god, who are these people? Are they mind-readers or something?_ Seifer thought, feeling the blood drain from his head.

"S-so what? W-what does that have to-to do with anything?" he stammered. He hated when he sounded weak but this man was too frightening not to hide it from him. Maybe if he sounded chicken enough, the man will let him go.

"Nothing. But if we are to get anywhere, there are some things you need to know about those two, especially the blond-haired child…"

**Author's Endnote:** So I guess I'll need to tell you that the reason why this is such a long story is because of the great detail it goes into. I treat this like a television series or a Korean drama, not a movie. Unless you've begun noticing, there's a lot of side stories and whatnot threaded through the main storyline. Basically a warning that this is going to be one LONG story and you're in for a hell of a ride. Review? Thank you!


	10. 懐かしく

**Author's Note:** Didn't expect to reach this part of the story so quickly but I said I'd update twice this week so I'm keeping my promise. I'm hoping you'd read this chapter carefully. Read carefully and take note. Thanks and enjoy.

**Disclaimer:** The characters, settings, and back story are copyrighted by Square-Enix and Disney. The storyline is mine, as well as some original characters. As for the title of the chapter…you can look it up yourself.

**A Walk In Andante**

**10 - **懐かしく

Morning. Several days had gone since Olette declared she was going to teach everyone, with the help of Hayner of course, how to tango. It was very embarrassing, since tango wasn't just any kind of dance. To make things worse, they couldn't figure out where to practice. So sometimes they'd go to Olette's place. Sometimes it would be at Hayner's house. Pence barred them from his home. Sometimes it would be at Roxas's apartment. And sometimes it would be at the top room of the clock tower.

Hayner was frighteningly graceful. Pence was an absolute dud. Olette, naturally, did everything with enthusiasm, which drove Hayner up the wall. Kairi was just so painfully shy Roxas didn't know why Olette was putting her through so much embarrassment and pain to learn something that was only useful at a dance club here in Twilight Town. And Roxas, well, he felt like a fool. A big, cumbersome fool.

_Olette, I wish I knew your motive for this. Are you trying to make life misery or is this something between you and Pence? I know Pence. I sure don't know about you. What are you up to?_

Well actually, Roxas had an idea. More like a feeling, actually. But if it really did have something to do with how he and Kairi were always together going to places in Twilight Town, then Roxas really did feel like a fool.

Because ever since that conversation he had with Axel – was that even an actual conversation because it sure didn't seem like it – he had been watching himself. Had been watching his interactions with other people. Wanted to see how he was acting around them and how they responded to him. But really, he found himself studying Kairi. He scolded himself off, telling him that there were more people in the world than just her but he couldn't help it; whenever he started getting self-conscious about himself and his actions, he found himself watching Kairi. Watching and wondering.

Like yesterday. He watched her practice some solo moves on the arena, studied the fluidity in her limbs as she apparently grew more and more comfortable with wielding a blue bat like an assault weapon…and found his mind drifting far away from the reason for why they were here.

She was beautiful when in the midst of some battle move.

Beautiful. That was the idea. Beautiful was a word, a pitiful collection of vocals to summarize in short something far greater than can be comprehended by the pathetic human mind, its limited capacity for complete comprehension, and its even more limited language.

Beautiful…where had that come from?

And yesterday, afterwards, when they all convened at Olette's place, and the brunette forced Hayner to show Kairi how to react to her partner in dance, he felt something hot and explosive in the pit of his stomach. Something spitfire and spiteful crept through him as he watched the two teenagers unwillingly dance under the glare of Olette's green eyes. Who told Hayner _he_ could dance with Kairi?

_What am I'm feeling? Why, at that moment in time, did I want to physically hurt Hayner? Hurtle him out of Olette's house for dancing with Kairi that way? I mean, it's just practice, right? It's only some torturous dance routine Olette's putting all of us through. Who cares about who dances with who? Who cares about anything at all? It…it makes no sense._

He still remembered what Axel told him, about whatever he's feeling being echoes of what Sora's feeling. It was something that he couldn't forget. Could never forget.

"_What am I feeling? When I think about her, I feel so weird…all warm and melting…is that a feeling? An emotion? Is that Sora's feelings about Kairi?" _

"_You're a shadow of Sora and all you can ever feel for her is what Sora feels for her, so don't even think you can love her because not only are you incapable of love, somebody else loves her. Somebody she loves back."_

An echo of Sora's love. Whatever he was feeling was what Sora was feeling. A consequence of the connection between the two teenagers. Everything Roxas was doing was based on Sora, right? So his feelings for Kairi was Sora's love for her…except…except Roxas found himself resenting it. This wasn't something he expected to occur after merging with Sora all those months ago. He didn't expect to suddenly reappear in Twilight Town…and meet her.

_She…she's never said anything yet. She's never questioned me…my actions, my motives, my thoughts…why? It's like…it's like she already knows everything. Is this what it's like to be Sora? Is it that…that they understand each other? Is that it?_

_What am I to do with her? Even though whatever I feel may be…lies…her feelings aren't. What does she feel? How does she see me? What am I to her? No objections, nothing…it's like she thinks I don't know Sora. But I do…I know him too well. And it's killing me._

Herein was the great problem. Roxas hadn't told her anything about his past. She hadn't approached him about what he did a year ago, two years ago, in childhood, who his parents were, nothing. She had asked him nothing but Roxas had a feeling it wasn't that she 'understood' he didn't want to talk about it. Perhaps she just…didn't have the chance to think about it.

_In a way, I'm glad she didn't ask. What would she do, what would she say, if she found out who I really was? That would be…awkward._

His behavior around her ever since they first met here in Twilight Town had been mostly everything beyond friendly. Until a few days ago, he had been making a lot of moves. He realized now that he had no idea what he was doing…but back then it all seemed right…wait, this made no sense.

_Is this because of Sora? Is he the one driving me? Is he the one driving my thoughts, my emotions, my body, my…everything?_

He didn't want to let Sora control him. No, he had enough of it.

"I won't let Sora control me!" he hissed abruptly and loudly to himself as he turned the last corner towards Olette's house.

"I'm sure you won't," came the familiar voice. Sarcasm. "Knowing that you're Sora's Nobody, of course you won't let him dictate your every move, your every thought, your every goddamn emotion!"

"Shut up, I didn't ask you!" Roxas snapped as Axel appeared before him. The teenager scanned the empty street then eyed the Organization member suspiciously. "What the hell do you want?"

Axel shrugged, then leaned against one of the tall apartment complexes in the area. His green eyes were unreadable and Roxas growled at the discomfort.

"It's quite interesting, your anger," Axel said slowly. "This isn't…you, if you know what I mean. Where'd it come from, I wonder?"

"Don't know what you mean but _maybe_ it's from Sora, just like the rest of me!" the blond teenager retorted sharply. "Here to shove _that_ in my face?"

Now Axel's eyes were narrowed. He stepped forward but was stopped almost immediately by the Oathkeeper shoved in his face. Again.

"Put your weapon down, you asshole!" the older man snapped angrily. "If someone sees us-"

"_So what?_" Roxas hissed. "_So what?_"

Axel's eyebrows shot up in shock. Roxas felt a drop of satisfaction satiate a bit of the fury welling within him.

Fury.

_My god, what is this I'm feeling?_

"Roxas? Roxas! Snap out of it, Roxas!"

It was a terrible storm in his chest, a continuous tightening of muscles, restraining his breathing until he was gasping. His arm shook and Roxas lowered the Oathkeeper several inches. He swallowed. His throat was dry.

"What is wrong with you, Roxas?" Axel said angrily. "Where's the anger coming from?"

Anger? The fury. Roxas stepped back, felt his grip on the white weapon loosen. He felt his hand relax, heard the Keyblade as its metal head crashed to the ground. He took another step back, felt his lungs working faster and faster. He didn't know what it was like to hyperventilate. Was that what was happening to him?

Axel was watching him, his gaze unrelenting in tearing him open, layer by layer. But when Axel spoke, time seemed to freeze.

"Nobodies…we…never feel…this anger."

Roxas suddenly realized what Axel was trying to say, because the Nobody couldn't say it himself, couldn't word it out in the open. Until now.

"Something's happening to you, Roxas. You're changing. You're not who you are. You're not supposed to be changing."

And all the fury came back into him.

"I'm not _supposed_ to? Well fuck you and your rules," Roxas said softly, coldly. He stepped forward, bent down and picked the Oathkeeper up off the ground. He then looked at his former friend eye to eye.

"Bring that 'supposed to' bullshit to me again…and you'll regret it."

He willed the Oathkeeper away, then walked by Axel, shouldering him forcibly in the process. He kept walking, never looked back, and crossed another street. Closer…

The anger was ebbing. His reason was coming back to him.

_What have I done?_

Roxas shook his head. What had just happened back there? Axel was after him again, forcing him into realizing that he was merely a ghost of Sora, a part of Sora, never the real person, the true Keyblade Master. Why was Axel pushing such an agenda? He had no reason to. Axel didn't have any reason to push Roxas to go return to Sora but that's what he was doing right now. Did he know something Roxas wasn't aware of? Was that why he's been after Roxas for being around Kairi all the time?

What did Axel know that he didn't?

Roxas stopped just outside of Olette's house. He went over that again, then realized something.

_What is Axel doing here? Why didn't I ask that before? I know the Organization doesn't let Axel wander about freely…unless this is about me again. But it doesn't even seem like the Organization knows I came back. Then…then maybe…they'll leave me alone._

He sighed, then walked to the steps leading up to the door and sat down at the bottom. He stared at the ground, thinking. He had never done so much thinking before.

_Is everything I'm feeling, everything I'm going through, everything just a part of Sora? Is everything really about Sora? What about me? What about my thoughts, my words, my experiences, my…emotions? Do I even have emotions? _

_And everything I've done with Kairi…Sora's never gone through that. Never did. So in a sense…I'm not part of Sora. But of course Sora would have never gone through this. He doesn't live here. He doesn't have friends named Hayner, Olette, and Pence. He's never had to contend with the likes of Seifer and his gang, and Setzer, wherever the hell he is. He's never…lived with the aching, the emptiness, the utter chill that no amount of friendship and laughter will warm._

He rubbed against his chest, where a heart's supposed to be beating. Of course, there was no beating. There was no heart. But then he stopped his hand. Something was not right.

_I'm not…feeling anything. Nothing at all. Not even that chill…_

Behind him the door opened and someone gave a small cry of "Oh!"

Roxas looked behind him and saw Olette looking down at him from the door of her home in surprise.

"Roxas, what are you doing here? I thought you were at the arena with Kairi-"

"Where is she?" Roxas demanded, rising to his feet. "She's not here."

Olette shook her head. "She went to the arena to wait for you. You should go see if she's there. If Hayner's lost his way before looking for the arena, who knows if Kairi can find her way or-oh damn…"

Roxas ran.

''

_Where is he? It's been an hour now. He's late. What's holding him up? He said he'd pick me up from Olette's but he didn't even show up! And he wasn't here when I got here. Damn it, where is he? Where the hell are you?_

She growled out in frustration and swung viciously with her bat, slicing through the midmorning air and nothing of particular interest. She then whirled around and assumed a battle stance, the body crouched towards the ground, with the bat held in front of her, its head poised and pointed at an invisible rival. She had seen Roxas's battle stance, marveled at its similarity to Sora's, but said nothing about it. She just couldn't understand why they'd both hold their weapons back. She thought it was easier having the weapon out in front already to strike when the time came.

Of course they were far more experienced than she was. Roxas might not have said anything at all to let her find out on her own what she was doing wrong.

All this while she executed a swift series of steps and swings, just like Roxas showed her. She was getting good at this. The only problem was, she might get locked into this simple system and there would be no way to get her to learn how to improvise-

She spun around at the smallest sound and stumbled backwards as her bat crashed painfully against another one, held up by no other than Seifer himself.

"Hello again," he smirked while she backed away even further, bringing the bat out in front of her defensively. She swallowed, tried to slow her breathing but she couldn't; how the hell did he get there? Her arms shook with the shock of the impact but she held the bat out in front of her, watching him warily. Who knows what he might do? After all, she was the one who 'assaulted' him the only other time they met.

"What do you want?" she demanded coldly, then yelped and threw herself to the side as he bolted right at her, the bat swinging. She rolled on her shoulder, then was up on her feet. She quickly brought the bat up horizontally and felt her feet slide across the arena as he swung violently and clashed with her bat. He practically threw his weight at her; she thought her arms snapped.

They were face to face. She was scared.

"You scared?"

No, she can't get scared now. She can't freeze up now, not when someone's challenging her. There's a reason why she's learning to fight.

"No, and I'll never be!" she hissed and pushed him away. She didn't quite succeed in sending him stumbling backwards but he was surprised just the same by her actions. Kairi took a deep breath, remembered what Roxas once told her.

"_Block out everything. When you have too much going for you all at once, you won't focus. And if you don't focus, you'll die. So when you fight, block out everything. Put yourself in a void. Focus on your movements, on your opponent's movements, nothing more. Action, reaction. You're alone. You're one with yourself. Don't forget that. When you can become one with yourself, you can do anything."_

A void. Nothingness. Kairi held her breath and focused. She focused on the bat before her, watched Seifer carefully, watched and waited. She felt the slick in her hands, the aching in her joints, the sweat sliding down the side of her face. She shook her head to get the damp red bangs out of face, then studied Seifer. He didn't seem tired at all. He was poised, ready to fire at the trigger, ready to beat her and…and then what? What was he going to do to her?

"Why are you here?" she demanded warily as she slowly took a step to the side and eased some of the pain in her limbs.

"Do I need to answer?" he said coolly, taking a step to the side.

"You attacked me first. I demand an explanation as to why."

"Men don't enjoy sitting on bruised egos. I didn't appreciate the shit you did to me."

"You're pretty pathetic if you think attacking a girl is going to save your face-"

She threw herself to the side again when he rocketed across the arena at her, but when she whirled around to face him, he was gone.

"What-oh no-"

An arm warped around her neck and pulled her against him. She felt his hot breath on her neck and blanched.

"Girls who think stomping on men's balls are at the top of the world are just plain bitches," he hissed into her ear. She shivered, tried to pull away, but she didn't want her larynx crushed, thanks. "But the real pretty ones, well…"

She froze when she felt something hot and sticky press against the side of her neck. No, he did not…

And her brain, honed by days and days of combat, kicked into gear.

"Shit! Fuck! Damn you, you bitch!" Seifer swore as he pulled away from her and clutched at his stomach. Kairi whirled around, bat in front. She took only a second to wipe at her neck, then rubbed her hand on her shorts before grabbing the bat with the other hand again.

"You-you-you-you-"

_When Sora finds out, he's going to kick your ass to Hollow Bastion! When Roxas finds out, you're not going to live to see another day! Who'd you have me tell on, huh? HUH! You bastard! I hate you!_

Without knowing it, she ran at him and swung. She kept moving past him, even though her arms shook with the impact of her bat against his side. Seifer yelled, then jumped to his feet. But he was too slow; she whirled around and ran at him again. He barely brought up his bat in time and stumbled backwards, swearing as she jabbed him on the other side and tread his toes. She whirled around again but now Seifer was in full defense mode. She could read it in his stance, and the fearful worry in his eyes.

"Who taught you to fight like that?" he demanded in a raspy voice. "Who!"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" she hissed, then ran at him again. He bolted at her as well and they crashed in the middle, bouncing away and each nursing his or her aching arms.

Kairi knew the impact hurt her more; she couldn't get her arms to stop shaking. She didn't think she could hold the bat and survive another attack, but she didn't know what to do. She didn't like this feeling of hopelessness, knowing full well Seifer's intent.

_This guy's pissed at me for kicking him in the nuts and he wants to retaliate by-by messing with me! I hate him!_

That was enough to get her running at him again. She realized what she was doing almost too late but threw herself to the side when Seifer came at her again. She then bolted when he turned on his heels and streaked at her again, then swung at him with the bat and watched both the teenager and the bat fly off. She watched the bat skid across the arena with dismay, and took a step backwards, as far away from Seifer as possible.

The poor teenager was now suffering a bloody nose as well as scrapes and cuts on his arms. Kairi considered running in and disabling him further with a kick in the balls, but decided against it. He's suffering enough as is.

"…damn bitch…can't believe this…" she heard him say as he slowly got to his feet. She took another step back, then rested her weight on one leg, crossed her arms across her chest, and attempted to appear cocky while the bruised and beaten teenager turned to face her. There was malice in his eyes…and respect. She was sure that was what it was.

"You know…" he said slowly, looking at her and wiping the blood from his face. She watched him warily, inching back towards another blue bat, "not a lot of people can dodge and counter that move. Including that twerp you and your friends run around with."

Kairi bristled at the rude choice of words.

"For your information," she snapped, bending over and picking up a bat, "that 'twerp' taught me."

"Hmmph!" Seifer snorted. He obviously didn't believe it. But he did seem to believe that Kairi was willing to run him through with the bat or something similar. He started backing away when she took a step forward. Kairi found herself grinning.

"Am I really that intimidating?"

She thought it was so amusing how much power she had over him.

That was until the next thing he said. And that totally blew her away.

"…you know," he said slowly, warily, "you aren't supposed to be with him."

Kairi stopped moving. She froze, then straightened her back to work the kinks out of her shoulders. She watched the scarred teenager in surprise.

"What are you talking about?"

She looked at him and felt confused. What the hell was he trying to do? He attacks her, assaults her, then starts talking about…Roxas.

"Him, that twerp, Roxas. You're not supposed to be with him."

He spoke so clearly, plainly, and coldly. But that's not what sent sudden cold shivers up her arms and her spine. No, it was what he said. What was he talking about? Who told him Kairi couldn't hang around Roxas? She had a feeling there was a deeper implication to this, some secret agenda, or something that Seifer knew and she didn't. What could that be?

Or did he know about Sora?

That was enough for the protest to form on her lips. "I'm not-"

Seifer charged forward with his intent, interrupting her.

"You like him, don't you?"

Kairi gasped, dropped the bat. She stared at Seifer in astonishment.

"What! No, I-"

"But of course," he said smoothly, "you're not supposed to. After all…someone made a promise to you, one that links you to him. But then again…who's to tell you what to do and what not to do? Hmm?"

Seifer had only met her once before. How could he know everything about her? Everything about her and Sora? That was impossible! Unless he met someone who did know. But who could that be? Who would tell him this, just so that he could go and accuse her of liking Roxas when there was Sora out there, Sora who promised to come back to her once he found Riku?

"How do you know this?" she demanded furiously.

Seifer smirked, took a step forward, but she didn't really pay attention to it. She didn't care. She wanted to know how he knew this and how he came to assume that she liked Roxas.

"Oh, I have my sources. After all, not a lot of women try and stomp on my foot. An intriguing person…has an intriguing past."

Kairi took a step back but didn't move even as he came closer.

"What do you…what do you want with me?" she asked, her anger slipping away in the face of shock and fear.

Seifer wasn't looking so respectful now. The look on his face disgusted her. She knew what was going through his mind. All the signs were there. He liked being in power, and he was in power now, because he was the one driving the confrontation.

That bastard.

"Think about it, Kairi," he said with a smile. "It's not about me. It's about you."

He's stalking her?

"Who told you what to do?" Seifer began in that slow, ominous voice. "Who told you what to say, what not to do, what to choose? Who made you, you? You, of course."

"…_you have no choice. You know what should be, what must be. If you know the truth, you will understand the knife's edge you stand balanced on."_

It was as though Seifer knew her story, her past. Where was he getting this? This was ridiculous!

"You're locked in a promise, a connection you didn't choose to make." What! "It was made FOR you. After all, you were the one sent to that world to find him. You didn't have a choice, did you? But of course, you were young. When we're so young, the older people make the decisions for us, regardless of what we want. They think they know what's best for us, what should happen to us. You know what that means, Kairi? You've been played with."

He did not say that. He did not just say that! Kairi nearly fell down; she couldn't believe she heard that. Her limbs shook and she closed her eyes tightly, took a deep breath, tried to control the rage rising in her. He was mocking her. He was prodding her in a way she had never known existed, was forcing her to think about something she had never thought of before.

Something new about her past.

Kairi grew angry, very angry. She did not want to deal with this. What was Seifer trying to do to her?

"Get to the point," she forced out through clenched teeth. "I'm getting sick of listening to your trash."

Seifer grinned widely, then stepped towards her again. Kairi inched back but this time the teenager seemed intent on keeping her in one place. He flashed forward and grabbed her wrist. Kairi yelped and yanked at her wrist but he held tight. She glared at him but deep inside she grew worried when his facial expression didn't change.

"I'm just saying…shouldn't you choose what to do? Who to be? Who to…like, perhaps? After all, you chose to learn how to fight. That's something big. People think you're so weak-willed but if you're so determined to learn how to swing a stick, that definitely says something about you. You don't want to be pushed around. You don't want things dictated for you. And yet, you're letting yourself be led along. And I bet you're wondering what that is."

She drew a shaky breath, still didn't understand what he was getting at.

"What's your point, Seifer?" she demanded. His touch disgusted her. Now her wrists were going to feel crusted over with dirt and a hundred other stuff that the human body shouldn't be touching. "What are you getting at here?"

He smiled again. She wanted to punch him in the face and knock his teeth out. The temptation became overwhelming when he pulled her close, until he was practically breathing in her face. His eyes flashed darkly, with hatred, and she had a feeling everything he was doing was out of contempt. Hopefully.

But the information…who told him?

"Let's put it this way: All the decisions made in the years past create you. But what if all those decisions were made outside of your control? And you had a chance, one chance, to make a decision for yourself? What would you do, Kairi? What would you do?"

"Why are you telling me this? You get nothing out of telling me this bullshit. What are you getting at? What are you trying to do?"

Seifer backed off for a minute and she took in a big lungful of uncontaminated air.

"I'd kiss you right now but that won't push my agenda forward, would it? No, I'm just telling you this because I want you to watch out for yourself. You don't know this Roxas. Nobody does. Let's call him a wild card, per say, and he's offering you the chance to step out of the box you're in, the walls all around you. But-"

"I'm fine with Sora, thank you very much," she snapped, not even knowing if Seifer knew who Sora was or not. "There's been nothing wrong between us, if you've been wondering. So stop wasting your time-"

"Listen to me!" Seifer snarled, forcing her into silence. "You have no idea what you're talking about. You think you know but you don't. If you knew the truth, you wouldn't be like this. You'll be questioning yourself about everything, I think. There's a lot going on that you're oblivious to. But if you tried, you can find out the truth. And once you find out the truth, the choice is yours. Don't lose that chance, Kairi. Ask him."

He backed off abruptly, letting her wrists go. She rubbed at them, glared at him as he took another step back.

"You hate Roxas."

"I did say I'd kiss you," Seifer said. "Think about it."

He turned and walked out of the arena. She stared at him as he turned to one of the walkways to the clearing amongst the buildings, and disappear.

"Wierdo," she muttered as she rubbed at her wrists. She could feel his hands on her wrists.

"_But if you tried, you can find out the truth. And once you find out the truth, the choice is yours. Don't lose that chance, Kairi. Ask him."_

"What would he get out of this?" she asked herself. "Why is Seifer telling me this? He has nothing to gain, especially since I hate him. But…why does he want me to ask Roxas? What does he want me to ask him?"

"_You don't know this Roxas. Nobody does."_

If Seifer was telling the truth, then if she asked Hayner, Olette, or Pence, would they be able to tell her anything at all? What did he mean? Ask Roxas about what?

_What do I ask him? Do I just go up to him and say, "So, Roxas, Seifer tried to assault me and all but he also said I should ask you about yourself. So tell me, Roxas, where you from?" He'll never buy that. Nobody will. I doubt I'll buy it myself. But damn it, what does he mean, what does he mean? Why is this even bothering me?_

And she remembered what he said about her past, about how everything was set up for her. How everything was set up…so she'll be together with Sora. So what? But love is love, isn't it? These feelings of affection, they can't be dictated by outside forces, right?

Then what the hell was Seifer talking about!

"Damn it!" she screamed. "What the hell was he talking about?"

It was all meaningless. Everything he said had no meaning whatsoever. And yet…and yet there was so much he said that bothered her. No, angered her. He accused her of being too soft and unwilling to take control of her life – hey, she's learning how to fight so she could go after Sora – and said she liked Roxas. Bluntly said it in her face.

_It's Sora. It's always been Sora. Only him. But…I don't know. Maybe I'm letting Roxas on too much. Oh my god, what if I am? Oh no…_

"Oh damn it…" she swore loudly again. "What…what am I doing wrong? What am I doing wrong?"

There was a painful clenching in her chest, a tightening that forced her heart to beat harder and louder. She could hear it in her ear. Kairi closed her eyes, felt herself drop down on her knees.

"What am I doing wrong? Oh my god…" she cried out, covering her face with her hands. No tears fell but she felt herself tear into two. Sora was going to come back to her with Riku in tow, and there was Roxas, who had been there with her every day, who was helping her learn how to fight if Sora didn't come back. If Sora came back with Riku…and found her with Roxas, what was going to happen then?

_Do I…do I really like him?_

For the first time, the full force of the situation she had put herself into hit her. Her hands slid down her face as she bowed her head and sighed. A heaviness weighed inside her and for once, just once, she thought life would be better if she died.

But the moment passed and she looked up at the sky.

"WHAT THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO DO, GODDAMNIT! TELL ME!" she screamed. "Tell me what I'm supposed to do! Tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me, tell me-"

"Kairi!"

Was someone calling her?

"KAIRI!"

Her shouting cut off as something-no, someone tackled her. She rocked back on her knees, her voice caught in her throat at the impact. She leaned forward against the person, wanted to cry, but couldn't. She couldn't cry. And she wanted to cry.

"Kairi…Kairi, what happened?" Roxas's voice whispered into her ear. "What happened?"

What happened?

_Roxas. It's Roxas. It's you. You're here, you're finally here…but…I'm sorry, Roxas. I can't. I can't! Seifer, he's right. I don't know you. I trust you so much but…I can't. Not until I know more. Not until I know who you are. Not until I…until I find out why you look like…Sora._

"Kairi? Kairi, answer me!"

She wanted to. The words were on the tip of her tongue, ready to fly. Her heart pounded furiously as the battle raged inside her. She closed her eyes tightly, wished she could just disappear.

_Please…let me just disappear…I don't want to deal with this anymore…_

"Kairi…" She felt his hand brushing aside her bangs. She shivered at the touch but forced herself to stay still. She had to-she had to step back-she had to step back and look at what she had done, what she had created. The catastrophe that was sure to happen if she didn't do something now.

She wrapped her arms around him tightly, didn't want to let him go. She wanted him with her, _wanted_ him, and felt frustration bubble up angrily within her. This was what she felt; what the hell could she do? Her heart was pounding furiously against her rib cage as she pulled him even closer to her. She could feel his breath on her neck, his arms around her, encompassing her, surrounding her. She shivered again, then forcibly swallowed, tried to get a hold of herself.

"Roxas…" she murmured. "I'm alright…"

"You sure?"

She nodded, buried her face in his shoulder. She could smell him through his shirt, an identifying scent, and remembered that night, the night she first met him. He smelled exactly like the bed, exactly like the whole room.

"Kairi, c'mon. Let's go."

Go where? She didn't move and he didn't force her. He remained where he was, while she tried to figure out what to do.

_Seifer said I should question him. Why? What does Seifer know about him? He said nobody knew who Roxas really was. Did this person who told him to talk trash to me tell him who Roxas was, too? Then was Seifer just playing with me?_

"Kairi…"

She could feel the movement of his lips against her ear. Kairi closed her eyes even tighter. He was close, too close. There were so many times when he hugged her but…this was different. Against her better judgment, she had responded. A price was to be paid but she didn't know what and when.

"Kairi…please…tell me what's wrong…"

She shook her head, wanted to pull away from him but wanted to stay in his arms and never let go. She didn't want to let go.

"…I made a mistake…" she whispered into his shoulder. "I made a mistake…Roxas, I made a mistake…I made a mistake, oh my god…I never should have…"

"Kairi," he said. She felt his hand slide through the hair at the back of her head. "Kairi, what happened? What are you talking about?"

"I…I don't know…"

_I love Sora. I should have let you know from the very beginning, when you first saved me and took me to your apartment. I should have told you that I was committed to someone, and we were tied together by a promise we made, a promise that we one day would finalize for eternity with a paopu fruit. But I didn't. Why? In the back of my mind, something told me what I was doing was wrong but I…I loved being with you. From the moment you gave me that glass of water, I felt…connected to you. Like we've known each other for a very long time. And I still don't really know you. Where are you from, Roxas? Who are you? You're so kind, so helpful, so…understanding…but there is nobody I know of who can be just…that. Who are you, Roxas? Please…I don't even need Seifer to ask you this. Who are you?_

"You wanna go back?"

"Where?"

"Olette's?"

Kairi sighed. The mood had passed. She was becoming even more aware of his arms around her. She shivered again, then nodded. "I don't want to dance today, Roxas."

"Neither do I."

She smiled. Then the smile froze when she felt something warm and soft and silky press against the side of her face. She pulled away, turned her head to look at Roxas, who was watching her with a sheepish smile. She smiled back at him, then slid out of his arms and got to her feet. She held out her hand and he took it.

"Let's go back," she said as she pulled him to her feet and let go. Roxas nodded, then they walked to the train station. They were rather quiet and for once Kairi didn't seek out his hand. She was too busy…thinking.

Thinking about Sora.

About Riku.

About Selphie, Tidus, and Wakka.

About Destiny Islands.

About the Secret Place.

About Donald and Goofy.

About Hollow Bastion.

About all their friends. Hers, Sora's, and Riku's.

About Twilight Town.

About Hayner, Olette, and Pence.

About Seifer and his gang.

About the people moving in and out of her life here in Twilight Town.

About-

"C'mon, if we don't hurry up, the train'll leave without us!" Roxas suddenly said, his voice interrupting her reverie.

Before she could even begin to comprehend what the jumble of words uttered out of his mouth meant, Roxas took her hand and pulled her towards the train station. She stumbled at first, but picked up her stride as they ran down the sidewalk, dodged the random people on the streets, and bolted across the Tram Plaza towards the train station, which was now not so far away. Then they were climbing up the stairs and pulling open the doors and running into the train station, only to find that lo and behold, a train was still loading. Relieved, Roxas and Kairi entered the train and began searching for some seats. There were many people, many in pairs and trios, and families, too.

"You hungry?" Roxas suddenly asked as Kairi spotted some empty seats near the end of the train. She pointed and he nodded. They moved quickly but they were almost too late. The train was filling up faster than they thought possible.

"Kind of," she said as they sat down between an older couple and a family of four. The older couple was quietly talking and the parents of the family were trying to calm down their two young children between them, who were randomly pointing out people and yelling stuff about them.

"Why is that man so big?"

"How come I don't have pink hair? She does!"

"He looks like he's in a gang!"

"Is she gonna die, Mommy?"

"Ew, they're kissing!"

"Daddy, is it okay for two men to hold hands like that?"

"How come she has a stick through her nose?"

"Mommy, they have ice cream! Can we have some ice cream?"

Kairi covered her mouth with her hand to hide her giggles. The thing she liked about children was that they were so blatantly blunt about the facts. They see the truth like nobody else does. Nobody older, anyways.

"What's so funny?" Roxas asked while the children went off on a rant about some bald man.

"Them," she said, gesturing her head in the direction of the voices.

"Oh…"

"Mommy, he looks like a cop!"

"Mommy-"

"Oh fine. You two can go around. Just remember, don't bother people when they don't want to be bothered and when you're tired, come back here, okay?"

"Yes Mommy!"

"Sure Mommy!"

Kairi saw the two young children – an older sister and a younger brother – slide out of their seats and head towards the head of the train, asking about things loudly and honestly about certain people and certain things, like how ugly the floor was and how fat the man really is.

"That's like the only thing I like about kids," she heard Roxas say. "They're so frank about anything, even if it's downright rude. I remember this one kid asking me why I allow Seifer to beat the crap out of me every time we meet."

"I bet you really felt like crap then."

"Of course I did."

Kairi smiled while she started scanning the crowd. Still, the mere mention of Seifer did make her feel somewhat like crap. She wasn't sure who won that mini-battle at the arena but in terms of the mental warfare between them, Seifer had the upper hand.

Something was starting to bother her. Kairi looked up and straight ahead, then felt her throat go dry. She realized she had seen the person staring right back at her before.

_I know you!_

He was with two older people. She decided they must be his parents; they looked old enough. She looked back at the teenager and felt relieved his eyes were looking elsewhere.

His hair was jet black but was styled very similarly like Cloud. Well, Cloud may have changed since it had been a year since she last saw him but he did look very similar to the Cloud she remembered. Strange; she doubt they were related anyways. And he had purple eyes. That was even weirder. And he wore dark clothes, dark blue and black. What a moody kid.

"Who are you looking at?" Roxas asked curiously while she bit her lip and tried to recall what those two other teenagers had called him.

"Someone we've met before," she murmured. "This really is a small world after all…"

Roxas looked at the person in front of them. "I've seen him before…"

"He ran into us…or rather, shouldered past us."

"I've seen him before…at tournaments. And sometimes on the streets. Either he's a stalker or Twilight Town is smaller than I thought."

"I think his name was Sakusen-"

"Hello!"

Roxas jumped and she placed a hand on his forearm to keep him from reacting further as the two young children from next to them materialized in their faces, literally. Kairi smiled at the eager, curious glimmer in their eyes and said kindly, "Hello there."

"I thought only older people could do that," the younger boy sang in a whiny voice.

"Do what?" Kairi asked curiously. Roxas wasn't talking.

"How come he doesn't say 'Hi'?" the older girl demanded.

"Because…he doesn't want to?"

"But that's not nice."

"Yes," Kairi agreed gravely, empathizing with the girl completely. "Yes, it's not nice."

Something jabbed her on the side and she gave Roxas a sidelong glance. He had his eyes fixed straight ahead but the corner of his mouth was twitching. Kairi scowled.

"Can you tell to say 'Hi' to us, please?" the younger boy blurted. "We want to say 'Hi' to as many people as possible because Sis said we could get a lot of ice cream if we say 'Hi' to every person in Twilight Town."

Kairi raised a curious eyebrow. "So…Roxas…care to contribute to their collection of 'Hellos'?"

"…hi…" he said quietly.

"So…how come you aren't kissing like all the older people are?" the older girl demanded.

"What?" Roxas was now focused entirely on the youngsters. "We-we're not together."

"But she's holding your arm," the girl said, pointing. Kairi immediately withdrew her hand.

"Do you like each other?" the younger boy asked, dragging out each word and making one long agonizing question.

Kairi looked at Roxas, who returned the same 'What the hell do we tell these imaginative kids?' look, then said, "As friends. We're friends. Just like you and your sister."

"Yeah but Sis eats all the ice cream and you didn't look like friends when I first saw you."

"And when was that?" Kairi questioned, a smile tugging at her lips. _Childhood rivalry for the ice cream_, she thought. _Typical and hilarious._

"I dunno," the little boy said. "You were hugging and then holding hands real tight and then disappeared, like _poof_! And then a man asked if you liked each other and I said I didn't know, so he gave me grape gum. It tastes like money."

"How do you know what money tastes like?" the older girl demanded. "You didn't eat money, did you?"

The little boy grinned. Then he looked at Kairi and Roxas again. "It was nasty. But I didn't tell him that, cuz he was so tall and so scary."

"Who?" Roxas asked calmly. She heard the trembling in his voice.

"I dunno. Someone with really red hair and glasses. He let me try the glasses, cuz I said I wouldn't tell him anything."

He grinned.

_This kid is evil. He knows how to manipulate. I'd better stay away from him._

"…I see…" Roxas said thoughtfully. Kairi looked at him curiously.

"So…you don't like each other?" the siblings asked. They were rather persistent. Kairi wished she knew why…maybe not.

"Depends on what you mean by 'like'," she replied. "And aren't you…weirded out by this?"

"What, cooties?" the little boy said, puffing out his chest. "Cooties don't scare me!"

"…that's because there's no such thing…" Roxas muttered under his breath. He apparently didn't really like these kids at all. Kairi giggled.

"What's so funny?" the siblings and Roxas asked at the same time.

"Nothing…"

"Okay, well, we got to go. More 'hi's' to collect," the older sister said cheerfully. "Bye, bye!"

The little boy waved and yelled out, "BYE!"

And then they were off, disappearing into the crowd. Kairi sighed and leaned back in her seat, then looked at Roxas. He seemed…rather disconnected, staring up at the train's ceiling and maintaining that perfect position while the train rolled and bumped over its tracks.

"Hey," she said quietly, placing a hand on his shoulder.

He looked at her and said, "Interrogation by little kids is not my idea of fun in the evening."

"Who said it was?" Kairi replied.

He shrugged. "I don't know…just that, the man they described, the one who asked the little boy about us, that bothers me. Who was he?"

"We'll never know," she said, yawning. She was tired.

"Sleepyhead," she thought she heard Roxas say.

"Very funny, Roxas." She blinked, suddenly found it hard to keep blinking.

"What did I say?"

"Nothing…" She yawned again. "I hope you don't mind."

"Mind what?"

She didn't give him any alternative. Kairi simply leaned over against his shoulder and closed her eyes. Within moments, everything went black.

**Author's Endnote:** _Another Paradise_ is up on temporary hiatus while I attempt to master HTML and finish this fanart I'm stuck on. Please review and enjoy your questions.


	11. Pluto

**Author's Note:** Firstly, I finished my first fanart in ages. You can find it on my deviantart account, link found on my bio page if you patiently scroll enough. Secondly, this chapter's a breather, pretty short. But surprise, surprise. And my god its hot here. Ugh.

**Disclaimer**: The characters, settings, and back story are copyrighted by Square-Enix and Disney. The storyline and original characters are mine.

**A Walk In Andante**

**11 - Pluto**

He wasn't there for no reason at all. He was never nowhere for no reason at all. If anything, his presence always merited for something, trivial or immeasurable in proportion. He brought word. He carried word. He found something. He guided others to that something. Or someone. That was his greatest discovery. He had found someone, guided his companions to that person, and triggered a series of events that led up to…the now. The here and the now.

Sora.

Pluto sniffed at the street again, made sure he wasn't losing the trail of the person he was searching for. His master's words were clear. His directions were clear. Pluto was to look for someone and then bring word back to His Majesty, King Mickey. He was to make sure that the person in question was not in danger, and if there was trouble, he was to make an immediate turnabout and return to His Majesty.

But Pluto was in trouble. He hated to admit it himself but he knew there was trouble about. His sharp nose was picking up a medley of scents and smells that was clouding his ability to remain focused on just one. It had been like that the last several days. He found bizarre tracks, trails left by people who just didn't smell like…didn't smell like people. Well, King Mickey wasn't exactly a 'person' but he didn't have as unusual a smell as that…one scent carried by that woman, that tall woman in black high-heeled boots and ruby red coat. He got distracted when he picked up a whiff of her, followed her, lost her in the crowd, and found her scent…and nothing else. Her trail ended in the middle of the street. Like she dissolved into thin air-no, he's getting distracted again. Pluto shook his head, then returned to the first scent, the one smell he was supposed to follow. King Mickey wanted to make sure Pluto confirmed what he thought of the person Pluto was sniffing for, so that he could send word to Sora and rest the teenager's ceaseless worrying. Sora kept saying he felt something was wrong and wanted to return to Twilight Town but, naturally, he had a task at hand and was ordered to keep at it while King Mickey took it upon himself to make sure the person was fine and everything could go ahead as planned.

Sora spent too much of his time thinking about Kairi.

Pluto growled when he lost her trail again. The problem at hand was that her scent kept getting mixed up with someone else's. Now, he knew about the trio of teenagers who knew Sora, the ones called Hayner, Olette, and Pence. He couldn't mix up their smells even if he tried. But the scent winding around Kairi's wasn't from any of them. Who was she with? Pluto growled again, knew there was trouble afoot, and made to turn around but this time his nose picked up a bit noseful of that other smell.

Some of the markers in that particular smell were identical to Sora's. Pluto froze. He sniffed again. Yes…there was something familiar about this unidentified scent, a scent similar to Sora's. But different. A bit further up ahead, a scent marker disappeared, replaced by a completely different one. But the similarity remained.

Kairi was with someone close to Sora. Close, or…

His ears perked up. Voices up ahead.

"…tomorrow?"

"Maybe…"

That last line was uttered by Kairi. Pluto ran ahead, then dove into the shadows of an apartment complex as he spotted Kairi and another person at the very top of a set of stairs leading to an apartment complex. She then knocked on the door.

Pluto cocked his head curiously to the side. Who was that other person? He sniffed the air. Well, it was that same smell, that's for sure, that mysterious scent twisting around Kairi's.

Light shown from the inside onto the two teenagers as someone opened the door. A conversation ensued but it was far too fast for Pluto to pick up word by word. He did get the idea that the person inside was irritated but also glad that they were both back.

Presently, Kairi said, "Good night…" and stepped into the apartment complex. The door closed and the light disappeared. The other person was shrouded in the darkened twilit sky. Pluto watched as that person turned and headed down the stairs and down the street. Pluto decided it was time to confront that person and figure out who that person was.

He bounded out of the shadows and barked. The person whirled around as Pluto advanced, his nose working overtime to determine the scent and store it in his memory. The scent kept shape-shifting, at times smelling more like Sora, at other times smelling less like Sora. Pluto kept sniffing, growling a bit if only to keep the person's attention on him. Problem was, he eventually found out the person wasn't going to run even if all he was doing was sniff right up to the person's shoes.

"…Pluto?"

Pluto froze. Was he just hearing things or did this stranger call him by name?

"Pluto, is that you?"

Something was definitely wrong here. Pluto yelped in fear, whirled around and bolted. He needed to find King Mickey _now_.

**Author's Endnote:** Bet you weren't expecting that. I'll try and get _Another Paradise _working within days. Review?


	12. Intertwine Desire

**Author's Note:** Incredible. We've finally reached the chapter that starts screwing over this story. I admit, I don't know what drove me to write this scene because it's nothing like what I imagined. This, I believe, was the result of a type of story I couldn't find. Enjoy the confusion.

**Disclaimer:** The characters, settings, and back story are copyrighted by Square-Enix and Disney. The storyline and original characters are mine.

**A Walk In Andante**

**12 – Intertwine Desire**

"_Kairi?"_

_She remained perfectly still._

"_Kairi, it's me. Remember me?"_

_The voice was yearning, pleading, begging. How could one not resist the voice? The voice she had been hearing, faintly, for so many months?_

"_Kairi, please, turn around?"_

_Why won't she turn around? Kairi bit her lip, tried to turn, but something was holding her back. Someone was holding her back._

_She looked deep into Roxas's eyes as he stood several feet before her. There was no emotion in his face, no life in his eyes. He just stood there. Kairi blinked, wondered if she was being deceived or she was just imagining things. He looked shadowed, like there was a shadow on him. _

"_Kairi, look at me, please? I've waited for so long…"_

_Kairi reached out, tried to touch Roxas's arm. The first time she tried, she missed. The second time. The third time. Kairi grew more puzzled. He wasn't that far away, was he? Kairi took a step towards him, then reached out with her hand again._

_Her hand went through his arm. Kairi gasped and backed away quickly. He looked at her, then at his arm. He then looked up and his lips moved. But it wasn't his voice._

_It was Sora's._

"_Kairi, turn around. Look at me."_

"_No…no, I don't want to," she heard herself whisper. Kairi gasped. _

_Right before Roxas materialized a girl. A blonde girl with a plain white dress and sandals. The girl from that one dream she had a while back._

_It was her voice projecting through Kairi's mouth._

Oh my god, what's happening to me? What's going on?_ Kairi thought. She swallowed, then was more shocked when she realized that girl was doing the same thing. When she blinked, she was sure the other girl blinked. And Roxas, Roxas was behind her. Then…Sora was…_

"_Kairi. Look at me. I haven't seen you for so long. Please. Please…"_

_The voice behind her kept pleading with her. But nothing was more horrifying than watching that same voice project out of Roxas's mouth. It was like Sora was speaking through Roxas._

"_I don't want to," Kairi whispered but it wasn't her voice. It was that girl's. But she was the one choosing the words. That blonde girl was copying her every move. _

"_Kairi-"_

"_Sora? Sora, what's happening?" Kairi asked, her voice – the girl's voice – shaking. "Sora…"_

_As she watched, Roxas placed his hand on the girl's shoulder. At the same time, she felt a pressure on her shoulder, the exact same one. She jerked away and whirled around._

_Nothing. Nobody was there._

_Kairi stared. She was sure Sora was there. She heard his voice, felt his presence, his hand on her shoulder. Where did he go?_

_Kairi turned back. Roxas was watching her. Kairi swallowed nervously, fearfully. The shadow over him had grown darker. She couldn't see the blue in his eyes anymore._

"_Kairi!"_

_Sora, again! She whirled around, looked for him, wanted to get as far away from Roxas as possible. She didn't want to stay with this stranger any longer._

"_Sora!" she called out and ran towards the voice, ran through the murky shadowy land. The clouded blurry mist swirled around her legs as she ran towards the voice. "Sora, where are you?"_

"_Kairi!" Behind her! Kairi turned her head. Roxas was calling her! "Kairi!"_

_She hesitated. Then someone else called her name. _

_Sora!_

"_Kairi!"_

_Kairi turned her head back to Sora._

"_Kairi!"_

_To Roxas._

"_Kairi!"_

_She fell to her knees._

"_Kairi!"_

"_I don't know," she said. "I don't know, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know-"_

"_Kairi!"_

"_Kairi!"_

"_KAIRI!"_

_The mist was pulling back. And suddenly she realized it was sand. Cold, soft sand. She blinked as silver-blue moonlight shone upon the surface. Tiny quartz pieces glimmered on the surface. _

_The sea. She could smell the sea. And there was a slight whistle in the wind. A breeze in the trees._

_Destiny Islands._

_She stared at her wrist, saw the black and yellow bracelets. She quickly looked at her other wrist and saw the large yellow sweatband. She stared down at herself and realized that this was what she was wearing the night the Heartless came one year ago. She slowly raised a hand to her hair, found it short, and somehow, she found herself remembering sunny days on the beach and the laughter of children along the shore. She remembered how, after she came home without Sora and Riku, she let her hair grow out and try to escape that painful separation. Change her appearance, she thought, and she'll no longer remember that innocent childhood._

_Well she forgot, alright. She forgot Sora's name._

_To her ear came the distinct sound of sand crystals grating against each other. Someone was coming. Kairi didn't know whether to look up or not. Should she? Should she not?_

_Boots in her face. Dark gray and light gray, with red straps crossing over the top. She blinked. Ends of a long black coat swayed in her face. She looked up._

_It was someone in a black trench coat. Under the hood she saw nothing. It was as though a ghost inhabited the clothes, a spectral being adorning the clothes of reality. Then the hooded head changed position and moonlight hit upon strands of hair sticking out from under the hood. The head shifted again and she found herself staring into a face, the upper half shrouded by a mess of light bangs._

"_W-who are you?" she whispered. She couldn't see the eyes. Should she fear this person? But how did this person even come here in the first place? There was nobody else here, not even Sora._

_The person didn't answer, simply knelt down in front of her. She leaned back, felt a rapid beating in her heart as unexplainable cold washed through her. Beads of sweat dotted her forehead as she stared at the shadows under the head. She could see the lips, the unsmiling line. The person was unwelcome and both of them knew it._

_Fear. She was feeling fear._

_Then she was being yanked brutally to her feet, her arm held in a vice grip. She yelped and tried to pull away but the person was too strong. The person – he, it must be a he, pulled her to him, and she collided painfully against his chest and the strange string of beads at the neck of the trench coat. She cried out as they pressed against her collarbone and struggled in vain. He had his other arm around her waist now, and she didn't welcome the presence at all._

_She glared at the face, wanted to spit at him and hope the flying spit became burning venom. She felt his unseen gaze on her, on the anger in her face._

"_Who are you?" she demanded, then tried to push away. "Let go of me!"_

_The person leaned forward and she leaned back._

"_No," he whispered._

_She closed her eyes tight, then felt something on her lips. His mouth. He roved around her lips, sliding over them, then she felt his tongue push between them. She pressed her lips into a thin line but resistance was futile; he slid into her mouth and she shuddered as she felt him explore it, every inch of it, sliding over her teeth and rubbing _her_ tongue. Kairi didn't know whether to retch or wait for him to leave her mouth before she kneed him in the nads. She didn't plan on being kissed in this fashion – her mind had been brainwashed by Selphie's romantic notions – and, to be honest, she had wanted her first kiss to be with Sora, but it was a…a curious experience. Curious and strange, so very strange._

_He pulled his tongue back, hovered at the very opening of her mouth, and she tentatively reached out with her tongue and touched the tip of his. All at once something raced through her blood, the shock and-and something else. Something she wasn't expecting. It made her relax and at the same time it made her want more. More of what?_

_She pressed her mouth hard against the stranger's, wanted to see what it was like to kiss him back. He didn't resist, let her in, and she explored his mouth just as he had explored hers. The experience left her shivering with boundless energy._

_Kairi didn't know what had come over her, but she loved every bit of it._

_She pulled away and they disconnected. She looked at the shadows, the light bangs, and felt a faint smile form on her lips. She didn't know why but this utter stranger made her feel…happy. She felt happy._

_And just moments before she was running through the mist looking for Sora-Sora!_

_She suddenly pulled away and sat down hard on the sand. The person looked at her in surprise._

"_Oh my god, Sora…" She touched her lip, then turned around and pushed herself up onto her feet. _

_There, all the way down at the shores, was said teenager, watching the moon across the sea._

"_Sora!" she shouted and stumbled towards him. But then she stopped and turned around. The other person was still there, the stranger in the trench coat. He was watching her, she knew, and there was a nostalgic smile playing on his lips. Kairi hesitated for a second, then looked at Sora again._

"_Sora!" she shouted but he didn't turn. He was staring across the sea at the moon. "Sora!"_

_The stranger was approaching. She could hear him. Kairi turned to him, ran back to him, and threw her arms around his neck. He kissed her hungrily, wrapping his arms around her and holding her tight._

"_Please, I have to go to him," she murmured between kisses; with each kiss a heat was rising from deep inside her and it was melting away her resistance. If he didn't stop, she feared she'll never reach Sora, will lose him forever. "You understand, don't you?"_

_He captured her lips for one last kiss, one she returned with passion, then pulled away._

"_Yes…"_

_She slipped out of his arms and ran towards Sora._

"…_and no."_

_Kairi swallowed hard but she had to go to Sora _now_. She ran across the sand, her feet sinking into the soft white surface, as she drew nearer. The teenager still had his back towards her, was watching the sea. Kairi stopped several feet from him, paused to catch her breath, swallowed, then looked back to the stranger._

_He stood at the top of the surface, where the dry sand was. His pale hair was shimmering in the moonlight. Kairi made to go back to him but Sora's presence was calling her. Kairi closed her eyes, then turned to Sora. She cried out at the blazing sunset and the bloody sun, threw her arms up to shield her eyes, then spotted Sora again. She quickly looked up, at the three blazing shooting stars in the sky, and then to the top of the beach._

_She screamed._

"KAIRI!"

She sat up, for a moment was unable to breathe, then choked and gasped as air rushed into her lungs. She stared at herself, at the clothes she borrowed from Olette whenever night came, and saw how they stuck to her body. She was soaking wet with sweat; the whole bed was damp. She pushed her limp, wet hair out of her eyes and shook her head to clear it. Her breathing was starting to slow down.

"Are you alright?" Olette asked.

"What happened?" she whispered, then rubbed at her arms. The sweat was evaporating and she felt cold.

"You, uh…" Olette struggled with her words. "Um…you got sick three days ago and you didn't wake up until now-"

"I did?" Kairi didn't recall getting sick. When did that happen?

"Remember we went to dinner at that one place down near the Tram Plaza?" Olette said. "After practice?"

Dance or fighting? She didn't bother to ask; it didn't matter.

Kairi nodded slowly. The memories were fuzzy but still there. Pence, she recalled, had gone and done an imitation of a rubber-legged drunk, or so Hayner called it. Roxas wasn't there; he had called in to say he was busy trying to cool down the landlord back at his place so he wasn't able to make it.

That made practice definitely a dance practice.

"Afterwards, Pence and I wanted to take you to the Salsa Bar, being a dance club and all, but you said you were starting to feel sick. And right after that, you just fainted in the middle of the street. Hayner thinks its food poisoning."

Food poisoning? "What's that?"

"Food poisoning?" Olette sounded surprised. "It's…it's when food hasn't been properly cooked so there's some nasty stuff still in there. It can kill you. You're really lucky, Kairi."

"It can kill me?" she asked weakly, wiping at a droplet of sweat sliding down her forehead. She rubbed her arm again, shivered.

"Olette, she's cold. Give her a dry blanket or something, or she'll catch hypothermia or something."

Kairi froze. Her heart was starting to pound again. The full force of the dream came rushing back to her.

"Why don't you go fetch the towels, Roxas, since you suggested it?" Olette retorted crossly. "Let me explain to her what's been going on while she was out for the past three days-"

"No."

Olette sighed. "He hasn't left this room since he heard you got sick. Hayner's thinking of suing the restaurant. He thinks we can get good money out of this. And Pence…all he's thinking about is how many sea salt ice cream bars he can buy with that money. Me? I don't care as long as you're fine. And you look fine to me."

Kairi felt a cool hand press against her forehead. It felt…refreshing.

"Still a little heat…I think you'll be fine in no time," Olette said cheerfully. "I'll bring some towels and some dry clothes."

Kairi heard the brunette leave the bedroom and then looked up to see Roxas sitting on a stool next to the bed's foot. He looked tired but he was smiling.

_He's smiling just like that stranger in my dream_, she thought with surprise. And then she remembered what had happened when she screamed.

Both she and Sora had been fourteen. But when she closed her eyes and opened again to find the sunset burning her eyes, time seemed to have fast-forwarded to the present, one year later. He was wearing the black clothes. She had noticed briefly that she was wearing her pink dress with the black hood and the white undershirt. And when she looked to where the hooded stranger was, she found…Roxas.

_Was the stranger I kissed in the dream Roxas?_

Kairi shook her head, touched her lip. She shivered again but not from the cold. The dream was so vivid, so explosive, so real. She ran her tongue around her lips, remembered the pressure on them when the stranger kissed her without her consent.

And when he slid his tongue into her mouth…she shivered again as she remembered how it felt, the gentle caresses as she allowed him to deepen the kiss, until she knew she thought she was going insane. And after that, he allowed her to enter his mouth, see what it was like. He was so giving, she thought, so willing to let her see for herself. Who was he?

"…I wish I knew…" she sighed.

"Knew what?" Roxas asked curiously. She looked up and gave him a faint smile.

"Nothing, really…" she said. "Have I…have I really been out for that long?"

Roxas shook his head some. "It was horrible. You wouldn't lie still, kept moving everywhere…like you were in pain. Pence suggested we strap you to the bed but Hayner shut him up. Sometimes, though…in the middle of the night, you'd cry out something. Some words, sometimes a name, sometimes a sentence…You sounded so delusional."

Kairi nodded. She did think she was going crazy in that dream.

"Roxas?"

"Yeah?"

"Um…"

_What was I going to ask him again? No, definitely not if he ever kissed someone before. What was that other question on my mind?_

"Kairi?"

She looked up to her left. Roxas had left his seat, was now standing next to her. He pulled up a chair and sat down in it. Then he took her left hand and held it, caressed it, while his eyes never left hers. She swallowed but held steady.

"I was…wondering…about dreams."

"Dreams?"

"Yeah, dreams."

"What about them?"

"Do they…do they ever mean anything to you? Or-or do they symbolize something?"

"Like tell the future?"

"Yes-"

"Or the past?"

Kairi blinked. "What?"

His hands tightened around hers and a look of pain crossed his face. "Dreams…they make you relive the past…or give an allusion to it. That's been my experience with dreams. I…I see the past…"

"What about your past?" _This could be it. Maybe I can get him to start talking about his past._

"It's…it's not interesting. It's nothing, really."

"But I want to know-"

"No, you don't," he said automatically. "You don't want to hear about it."

"How do you know?" Irritation. She could feel it swell. She tried to push it down because she knew it could give way to anger. "How do you know I don't want to hear about it?"

"Trust me, Kairi. You don't."

"I-"

"Hey, you two." Olette stuck her head in. "Mom doesn't want you two in the same room alone together and anyways, Roxas, you really got to go. She's getting pissed. And Hayner's outside. He wants to see you. Or rather, he said you wanted to see him. Did I get this right?"

He stood up and her hand slipped out of his. She looked at him, felt resentment that he didn't trust her enough to tell her about himself. Yes, that was it. Trust. He didn't have enough trust in her. Why? After all they did together…

"I'll see you two in a while, then?" Roxas asked. Kairi looked away. She heard him sigh, then receding footsteps.

"So, can I ask what that was all about?" Olette asked curiously, coming in and closing the door behind her.

Kairi sighed and shook her head. "I don't know…"

And then it came to her. Maybe she could talk to Olette about this. About her…'dilemma'. After all, she had told Olette a lot about her past, including her relationship with Sora. Maybe Olette had some sound advice to give.

"Olette-"

"You should know, Kairi, that Roxas normally isn't like this around people," the brunette said abruptly, shutting the redhead off. "He…this is so weird, coming from me about him but…he cares about you. A lot. I've never seen a guy so focused on just one person but now…I've seen it all."

Kairi looked at Olette, saw her shake her head. "But that's where the problem is. Have you told Roxas about Sora?"

She had gone and brought up the topic Kairi herself was going to bring up. Kairi hesitated, remembered the night they first met. "He…he seemed tense, when he asked me about Sora. I mentioned his name a few times, I think, and he…he seemed mad or something. They've never met before, have they?"

Olette sat there in the seat previously occupied by Roxas, thinking. At one point her forehead wrinkled as she apparently tried to recall a chance meeting between the two but she finally shook her head. "No…but they do look similar."

"Olette?" Now or never.

"What?"

"What do I do?"

"What are you-"

"What do I do about…about him? You know about the stuff between Sora and me, about our…our _relationship_. That's all I've been thinking about, until that one day when the Heartless attacked and Roxas saved me-us. Ever since then…things have been…going out of control." Kairi stopped, took a deep breath. "I think…I think I like him. I think I like Roxas."

"Go figure," Olette remarked. Somehow that comment really rode up on Kairi and she whirled on the other teenager.

"You don't understand!" she practically hissed. "This isn't supposed to happen! Sora and I are supposed to be together! Nothing should change that! Not even-"

"Supposed to?" Olette, a bit taken back by Kairi's sudden anger, interrupted. "What do you mean by 'supposed to'? That's not what I heard when it comes to life, you know. Nothing's…supposed to be this way or that. We just wish it was."

Olette then rested her elbows on her thighs and set her chin on her hands. She studied the other girl and Kairi had to look away again. Now she felt embarrassed. Olette wasn't wrong at all.

"But I…I told Sora…I told him to never change. I told him to never change because…because I didn't want the world to change. I didn't want that moment when I told him…to go away and never come back."

"Sora's changed. And, as I've heard from him, you've changed, too. So I don't know what you're talking about, Kairi. What _are_ you talking about?"

"I…" Kairi wondered at the question. "I don't know. I guess…"

She looked up at the ceiling of Olette's room, saw her vision blur as tears started welling up in her eyes. She wiped at them, then took a deep breath.

"I guess…the last time I saw Sora…and the drawing he did in the Secret Place…made me want to forget everything that happened. I wanted to forget because I felt so much pain. So I changed my appearance, hoping that I won't be reminded whenever I look in the mirror. Then one day I forgot Sora's name. Eventually I forgot his voice. All I knew was that someone was out there, someone I knew long ago, someone who promised to come back to me. So I decided not to go back to the Secret Place until that somebody came back, that someone who made a promise to me."

"Promise? He promised to come back to you? That's pretty big of him."

Kairi smiled. "Yes…yes, it is. But he promised anyways. And promises are unbreakable. Especially those between the two of us. That's how close we are, Olette. That's why we're supposed to be together. That's why…"

A tear rolled down the side of her face.

"That's why I don't know what to do now. What do I do, Olette? What do I do?"

''

Hayner stared at Roxas and wished he had some sort of mind reader or something. The problem with Roxas was that he thought too deeply and when he thought too deeply, most of it never makes it out of his mouth.

"Yeah, and what did you want to talk to me about again?" Hayner asked grumpily under his breath.

"I don't know…I just needed someone to talk to."

"Well, we're not making any conversation here. Care to start?"

Roxas looked at him. "What's wrong?"

"Oh nothing, nothing much," Hayner muttered. "Just that the other day Seifer beat the crap out of me in the prelims for the Struggle Tournament coming up in a few weeks. Said to send his regards to Kairi or something-"

"Really?" Roxas interrupted, looking at Hayner. His blue eyes were blazing with sudden interest. "Why would Seifer say that? He hasn't forgotten how she's beaten him up that other time, did he?"

"You know Seifer," Hayner answered matter-of-factly. "Hell, _I_ know Seifer."

"Who doesn't?" Roxas muttered under his breath. Then the teenager sighed and sat down on the steps out in front of Olette's house. Hayner looked down at the top of his friend's head. "Listen…it's just that…I just wanted to talk to you because…I obviously can't talk to Pence about any of this. Any of what I'm going to tell you."

Hayner jumped at the mere mention of their very mutual friend. "This is about Kairi, isn't it?"

Roxas was ever so reluctant to answer. "Well…kind of…but…it's just that, I had a weird dream last night. It was really…disturbing."

"How disturbing?" Hayner asked rather delicately. He had a feeling this was not pretty.

"Did you…" and here Hayner noticed Roxas was starting to turn a dark shade of…red? Most likely. "Did you ever…kiss someone in a dream?"

That was the very last thing on Hayner's mind. He'd even take streaking before that. The blond teenager stared at Roxas for a few minutes - more like a few samples of eternity – and then yelled, "WHAT!"

"Shut up! You'll have this neighborhood up in no time!" Roxas snapped uncharacteristically. He was still a dark shade of…red. "I don't want to advertise this, okay?"

Hayner scratched his head. "Say what?"

Roxas sighed, put his elbows on his knees, and bowed his head. He looked…pathetic. Depressed and pathetic.

"I…I dreamed I was on a beach. A tropical beach. It was night…the full moon was really low in the sky. The sky was so _clear_. It was nothing like this twilit stuff. It was pure dark blue and there were stars. Real stars.

"I don't know why I was there but here I was, in the middle of a beach. I looked at myself and realized that I had somehow gone back in time. I was wearing exactly the same stuff I was wearing a year ago. I even checked my hair. You know, the one with the really long bangs?"

Hayner nodded slowly. Roxas methodically pressed onward.

"I saw someone, someone kneeling down in the sand. I headed towards that person and that person looked up. She…she was the most beautiful person I ever saw. So beautiful…and so sad. She looked like she was trying to cry but she couldn't. She looked so miserable."

"Who was she?"

"I don't know. That's the funny thing, because I felt like I've met her before. Somehow…she looked familiar. But I couldn't remember her. There was something blocking my memories. But I felt I knew her. So I went to her. And I…I don't know what came over me. I knelt down in front of her and she backed away. She was scared and I got…angry. I pulled her to her feet with me and I…kissed her."

"Wow. That's some drama going on there," Hayner remarked, quite blown away by the details Roxas was spewing out.

"The thing was…I loved it. I loved kissing this unnamed girl. And after that…she kissed me back. And I let her. I let her have her way. It didn't matter to me. It was like a mutual agreement between us or something. It was like we didn't know each other but we understood each other perfectly."

"Lucky…" Hayner muttered under his breath. Roxas raised his head to give his friend a glare.

"But she suddenly pulled away. It was like something had just come to her attention. She turned and started to scream someone's name, started running towards the sea. I followed her, and I saw someone down at the edge of the sea, watching the moon. And I felt…sad. No anger, no hatred, no jealousy, just…sadness. She stopped running and looked at me. She was torn.

"And then she came back to me and I kissed her. I didn't want to let her go. But I had to. It was the only way. So I did. And I watched her go down to the sea, to the person at the shore. And all of a sudden, it wasn't night anymore. It was twilight. And I looked at myself and I was…I was myself. It was like someone fast-forwarded a year or something. And I looked down at the beach and I saw…Kairi. And…and some other…guy. Someone with wild brown hair and black clothes."

Hayner shifted uncomfortably on his feet at the mention of 'wild brown hair' and 'black clothes'. He kept his mouth shut, though.

"And suddenly I heard someone scream. And I woke up. It was…the weirdest dream, because it felt so real. I…I actually remember that girl…her lips…on mine. I…I never kissed anyone before. I never had the _motive_ to kiss anyone…but I just saw her, and I just did. You think…you think that means anything, Hayner?"

"What, you kissing someone in you dream?" he asked. "That's just weird coming from you. Sorry, Roxas, but I really don't have any idea what to say about this. Do you think…uh…that the girl's real?"

Roxas shook his head slowly. His answer was a whisper. "I don't know."

Hayner hemmed and hawed for a few minutes, then sat down next to Roxas. He patted his friend on the back and Roxas looked at him with surprise. And apprehension.

"From what I can deduce, I think that girl you kissed was Kairi."

"Say what-"

"I mean if in your dream that girl got replaced by Kairi like how that guy down at the sea changed and you changed, don't you think that _is_ Kairi?"

Roxas blinked, stared at him for a few minutes. His blue eyes were cloudy with confusion but slowly, ever so slowly, they cleared into a brighter, sharper blue. And then Hayner decided on something right there and then: He had _never_ seen Roxas turn a darker shade of red before.

Presently the teenager looked away. He was silent. Hayner sighed, filling in the eerie quiet. "Look…um…can I…can I talk to you about something? Well…actually, it's more like a confession. Um…the thing is…the thing is…I like…"

Roxas watched the teenager curiously as he struggled with himself. Then Hayner emitted a low growl in his throat, a frustrated sound.

"I've got to say it! Damn it, I've _got_ to say it! Look the thing is, Roxas, is that…I like…Olette." His voice went from a rising crescendo to a bare whisper. "And, uh…what the hell am I supposed to…do?"

"What can you do?" Roxas asked.

"Not much."

The other teenager shrugged and poked at his shoe. "You'll have to find a way, then, to tell her. I can't help you. You know I can't. I know next to nothing about this."

"And yet you got to kiss her in your dream-"

"Shut up, Hayner. I don't even think it's her. Maybe…maybe it was someone I knew a year ago…someone I eventually replaced with her. I mean, how could I have dreamed of such a thing?"

"Roxas, when you're in love, anything's-"

"I'm _not_ in love. I'm not, Hayner," Roxas snapped, then his voice dropped to a bare whisper. "I can't be in love."

"And why the hell not?"

"It's…" Roxas sighed and pressed his hand against his forehead. How was he to say this to Hayner? "It's really complicated. I can't explain it to you. It's…it's nothing. I don't know. Do you…do you even know what it's like to _be_ in love?"

Hayner shrugged, leaned back on the step behind them. He looked up at the sky thoughtfully and for once he looked…wise. Hayner, wise?

"I…I heard there were differences…between liking someone…and loving someone. There's something that separates the two. That's why there's the word 'like' and the word 'love.' At least…that's what I heard…and _not_ from Pence."

Roxas studied Hayner while the teenager stumbled around with an even clearer explanation of what the hell he was talking about. Hayner sighed, looked to Roxas for help clarifying the facts, and found a blank face staring back at him.

"I…I think liking someone…you just think they're cute, or hot, or just attractive. You think they're funny, they're fun to hang out with, easy to talk to, that kind of stuff. Really lighthearted, really…_bubbly_." Hayner shuddered at the last word. "Ugh, I can't believe I said that."

Roxas just nodded.

"But loving someone…I think it goes way deeper. Deeper than…having fun with someone you like. It's…and this is only what I heard from other people…it's like you're connected to someone, connected to that other person. Like soul mates…only I don't believe in that shit. But that's what people say. You fight with each other but make up in the end. You cry in each others arms, and laugh through the tears. You help each other through the darkest days and guide each other when lost in the night. It's…why am I even saying this!"

Hayner scratched his head and looked at Roxas. The teenager was staring up at the sky thoughtfully. There was an unreadable but touching look on his face. Hayner deduced that he must be thinking about Kairi. Had to be.

"Uh…Roxas?"

The person in question didn't answer. Hayner sighed, considered leaving the guy there to think and stare at the sky, then remembered something that happened to him earlier that day.

"Hey Roxas."

Nothing.

"Did you ever…run into something suspicious or strange or anything lately?"

Silence.

"See, earlier in the day after Seifer beat the crap out of me, this guy came up to me. He was weird, wearing this weird bluish-black cloak and hood and all. And I asked him what the hell he wanted. He asked if you, if _you_, ran into anything strange lately. And I asked him what the hell he was talking about. And he asked if you ever saw a dog, a really strange dog around these parts."

"What?" Roxas seemed to be intrigued all of a sudden. "What dog?"

"Yeah, exactly!" Hayner exclaimed in agreement. "Like, 'what dog'? I told him that was the most absurd question I ever heard and I told him to go away and…he got creepy."

"What?" Either Roxas hadn't heard correctly or he was asking for Hayner to continue, which the blond teenager did with pleasure. "What do you mean by that?"

"He…he got all pissed and everything. He went up in my face and told me to go find you and demand that you say you ran into a dog. And I told him there were a shitload of mongrels out here on the streets so why don't he go find them all out for himself. And he got even madder and said that this was a matter of life or death and other stuff. He kept rambling so I just left. Guy didn't even notice. I think."

Roxas shook his head. He ran his hand through his hair several times, then rubbed at his face. "We've…been hearing about these really strange people…asking about either one of us. It's…bizarre. I don't know of anyone who'd go after us…besides Seifer. But he'd go after any of us so I really can't say much, can I?"

Hayner stared at him. "Who's this 'we' you're referring to? You're not referring to you and Kairi in the collective, are you? That's…weird."

Roxas stared at him for what seemed like a few long 'night' minutes, complete with chirping crickets. Then he covered his mouth and backed away as far from Hayner as possible. The other teenager sighed, shaking his head and hiding a knowing smile.

"That's-that's not it!" Roxas blurted from behind his hand. "I mean-that's not what I-stop twisting things!"

"I'm not twisting anything, Roxas. Why are you even overreacting to this? I mean, c'mon, it's so obvious-"

"Not it isn't."

"Yes it is."

"No it isn't."

"Yes it-I'm not playing that game. Look, deny it all you want, but you like Kairi. It's so obvious that listening to you say otherwise makes me sick."

Roxas blinked at him. "And when's that going to happen?"

"When pigs fly."

"…pigs don't fly."

Hayner sighed. Sometimes Roxas took too many things at face value too many times. "I hope they don't. I like my pork not flying away from me."

"You pig."

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are."

"No I'm-not again."

Roxas cracked a smile and threw a punch at Hayner's shoulder. "So…do you have anything else to say or can I go back to my apartment and finally get some sleep?"

"And a shower-"

"Hayner."

"Okay, okay, fine." Hayner really did enjoy that conversation a few minute ago but Roxas demanded it and therefore, he must say it.

"I…" Hayner suddenly stopped, as he realized what that other thing was, that one last thing he wanted to say. He looked at Roxas, then down the steps to the street. It suddenly came to Hayner that Roxas might not know who Sora is.

"Hayner?"

"I um…the thing is, you know that guy you described in your dream? The one with brown hair and black clothes?"

Roxas watched him carefully. He spoke slowly, dancing lightly around Hayner's question for confirmation. "Yeah…what about him?"

"I…I've met him before, Roxas. He's a real person," Hayner said just as slowly, perhaps even slower. And then it came to Hayner that Roxas had just dreamt of a guy he never even met. "And…I hate to say this, and don't get all freaked out by this, but…"

Roxas was starting to look pale, now. "But what?"

Hayner sighed, thought about the best way to break it to him.

"He looks just like you."

**Author's Endnote:** I said I was going to get back to _Another Paradise_. I lied. Enjoy. Questions? Comments? Review, please.


	13. The White Castle

**Author's Note:** This chapter didn't turn out as well as I wanted it to. I was cooking up the conversation while loitering in the bathroom at like one in the morning but it didn't do as well when I transferred it to document and words. I hope it makes sense, though. They're always confusing, these retarded conversations. Oh yeah, and um…never mind.

**Disclaimer:** The characters, settings, and back story are copyrighted by Square-Enix and Disney. The storyline and original characters are mine.

**A Walk In Andante**

**13 – The White Castle**

It is abandoned now, its use and purpose spent. Specters, wailing ghosts, and echoes of lost memories ring in the glaring white halls, still pristine though ages had passed by. In many places, dust has begun to gather.

And yet in some rooms, in some halls, life went on. Sometimes, one must say, a bit too briskly. Such was the case of the current situation right now.

In the long white room dominated by a long white stone table a man dressed wholly in red tried to calm down the much shorter figure of a mouse in black.

"…I don't know what you're talking about-" DiZ attempted to say yet again but sharp-tongued King Mickey stopped him.

"You know _damn_ well what I'm talking about!" he shouted furiously. "And don't you go around hiding the facts from me, DiZ! What the hell happened? What went wrong? I thought everything had gone perfectly as explained months ago! Riku told me everything you did to ensure nothing went wrong and something _did_ go wrong!"

"We're trying to figure that out-" DiZ began calmly.

"And hell if you're making progress!" King Mickey yelled. "A Nobody isn't supposed to reappear like _that_ and you sure as hell know it! I understand dreams and hallucinations and holograms, maybe, but not this separate entity when the Nobody's already reemerged with the original being!"

"The truth is," DiZ added quickly afterwards, hoping a little that King Mickey wouldn't go off on a tangent again, "there is a difference. Most of the Nobodies' original bodies are gone. They died in Xenohart's foolish experiment. Sora and Kairi live. They're still alive. They're the only ones alive."

King Mickey stared at the tall man. "You're right…but what about Xenohart himself?"

DiZ hesitated for a moment. "Well…let's not go there. But do you get it? Unlike Roxas and Naminé, everybody else in the Thirteenth Organization have nowhere to go. They can't become their former beings, hence Kingdom Hearts."

"Yeah, but that doesn't explain what Pluto found-"

"What did your dog find _now_?"

King Mickey glared at DiZ. "You _know_ Roxas is back in Twilight Town. Who knows the hell why because we don't know why! I expected you to figure that out already."

"Roxas is an anomaly," DiZ answered calmly.

"So is Naminé."

"She's not a Keyblade Wielder."

"And that makes a difference?"

"Very. We have five Keyblade Wielders. There should be four."

"Why four?"

DiZ tapped on the long table. "There are four elements in this war with the Heartless. Light. Dawn. Twilight. Darkness. There is no room for five."

"Naturally," King Mickey snorted. "You only named four-"

"Body, heart, mind, and soul," Naminé's voice blurted behind King Mickey. The mouse king turned around to see the witch standing at the door, watching them. "We have a body. We have a mind. We have a soul, for if we lack one, we are dead without question. But no heart. Roxas isn't supposed to _feel_. I take it that's what you're talking about?"

DiZ and King Mickey both stared at her for a few seconds. Naminé stared back just as stoically, then started shifting on her feet. And then DiZ sighed, rubbed at his face.

"Now you've done it-"

"What is she talking about, DiZ?" King Mickey asked softly, coldly. "What does she mean by Roxas 'feeling' something?"

"We…" DiZ hesitated, then sighed deeply, very deeply. "We've been talking to Axel-"

"What! Why _him_!"

"-and he's been providing us with invaluable yet very bizarre information. So has one of Roxas's friends. I am of the mind that someone's playing with us, toying with us. Someone with immense power…or incredible understanding."

"Why-"

"Hayner has been telling us of several strange people wandering around Twilight Town," Naminé blurted out. "They've been asking after either Roxas or Kairi."

"Kairi?" King Mickey repeated. "I understand Roxas, but Kairi? What do these 'people' want with Kairi? Or both of them for that matter? Wait-"

"Don't worry, Your Majesty," DiZ interjected smoothly. "We're handling this situation the best we can. After all, we are 'experts' when it comes to renegade Nobodies."

"Except last time when you said you got it right you FUCKED IT UP!" King Mickey roared. Even the man shrouded in red took a step back. If anything, King Mickey made it plain he was not to be messed with. "I hope you can give me a good explanation for what Pluto found while tracking Kairi in Twilight Town."

"Why did you send him to Twilight Town?" Naminé asked curiously, tentatively. She didn't want to set off the king again.

"Sigh…Sora's been freaking out over Kairi. He's been having…strange dreams, about losing her again. And he's afraid he'll lose her forever. He's been…going insane, for lack of better words. It was either I send Pluto and myself, or he comes back here physically, no questions asked."

"Oh…" Naminé said in a very quiet voice.

"Well, what _would_ you expect, Your Majesty, if Kairi met Sora's Nobody? Same as when Sora met Kairi's."

"With one very big difference, of course," King Mickey retorted. "Naminé _replaced_ Kairi, therefore whatever Sora thought and felt was screwed over in more ways than one. I still don't know if what he told Naminé holds true or not, no offense to you, by the way. Sora's true emotions are towards Kairi, so I'm still…bedeviled…strange word…confused over what he thinks of Naminé.

"But here, Roxas presented himself to Kairi _as_ himself. He didn't go and ask Naminé to replace all of Kairi's memories of Sora with him, just to make sure that he's at the receiving end of all of Kairi's feeling towards Sora. I don't know the details but they've met and from what Pluto tells me, _they're still meeting._ Care to explain to me that? Why didn't you step in and fix it up, DiZ? Or you, Naminé?"

He glared at the two of them. DiZ hemmed and hawed and didn't say anything, while Naminé started shifting back and forth more violently on her feet. Finally she asked, meekly, "What could we have done?"

King Mickey stared at her. "Well, gee, I wonder Naminé, if you CONSIDERED ERASING HIM FROM HER MEMORIES! If you erase him, she'll never have any memories of him whatsoever and she'll never have to remember a Nobody that won't exist forever. Her connection to Sora will keep Sora going, and Sora will definitely _not_ pester me about Kairi anymore. That boy's too much in love-"

"I can't erase him."

This time DiZ spoke. His voice was calm and cool, while King Mickey stared at the blonde teenager, his jaw hanging open.

"And why not, Naminé?"

She swallowed once, then twice, then three times. Her hands trembled but she clutched to her notebook as firmly as ever. "Because…I have my reasons not to."

"You'd better tell them to us, Naminé, or this won't end pretty."

She shook her head again. "No…you don't understand. I've been watching them for a long time now…because…I don't know how to explain this…"

"You're jealous, aren't you?"

It was King Mickey who spoke. Naminé gasped, looked at him. So did DiZ.

"No-that's not it-"

"Why were you watching them, Naminé? Tell us, please. We'd like to know," King Mickey said. His voice was eerily calm and cool. It was like nothing bothered him; he had zoned himself out of his emotions and was now a bystander.

"I…I was confused, when Roxas suddenly appeared on the radar-I mean, when I found out Roxas came back to Twilight Town. I wasn't sure what to do; I couldn't erase memories because he was _there_. So I started keeping track of him, his memories, his dreams…but it got unbearable. I became angry, angry at him, angry at myself, but I kept watching. It's…oh I don't know how to explain this-"

"Who is it you love, Naminé? Sora or Roxas? The one who said his feelings for you were real, or the one who shares your pain and your fate?" King Mickey pressed on. "Because either way…you'll never get your feelings returned, will you?"

Naminé stared at the king. "I…don't love anyone. I can't _feel_ love."

"Then what are you-"

"I'm just angry that Roxas is able to do what he is doing right now," she answered quickly and a bit angrily. "I'm angry that he gets to be with his friends, in the middle of Twilight Town. I'm angry that he gets to roam and do things that he wants to do. I'm angry that I'm stuck here, drawing when I'm bored unless DiZ decides to fool with someone's mind or talks to me about some plot to do some thing or another. I'm angry that…that he's interested…in Kairi…"

"You don't say?" DiZ remarked amusingly.

"I'm a NOBODY! I'm not jealous because of love or something like that! I'm jealous because he gets to do what I can't!"

"Which includes love-"

"No it doesn't," Naminé breathed lightly. "Because whatever Roxas is feeling is Sora's love for Kairi. We're Nobodies, shadows of the real people."

"Which means you've just gone and contradicted yourself," King Mickey fired. "The shadow of Kairi's love is in you, whether you really were born from a heart or not, which is why you're jealous over the two of them. Well, in my opinion, that's just plain weird. Roxas is one thing…but Kairi? Wait, what were we originally talking about?"

Suddenly King Mickey sounded like the smooth-talking effable fellow that he was before he went off on that frightening tangent.

"We were discussing the differences between Sora and Naminé, and Roxas and Kairi," DiZ reminded him with a sigh. "And since we agreed that the situations in which these four teenagers meet are different, there are fundamental differences in the two situations that were presented to us. One involved that foolish Organization. The other…didn't and still doesn't. In fact, I don't think the Organization is aware of Roxas anymore. Well, that's probably because of Sora-"

"Roxas presented himself to Kairi _as_ himself. There were and are no lies there. No secrets. Nothing. You think she's attracted to him?"

"Attracted? Isn't that pretty vague?" DiZ remarked.

"Yes, well, there's Sora, so I don't see any other alternative-" King Mickey began to explain.

"Kairi's attracted to Roxas because he resembles Sora. Roxas is attracted to Kairi because of Sora's love for her. That's what you're talking about. The truth is bound to come out, though. I doubt Roxas told Kairi who he really is," DiZ said. "In any case, I think something else is at work, something that brought the two together. That's why neither of us have done anything yet. Remember, there have been strange people wandering about, asking after them. As far as I can tell, they're definitely not members of the Organization. If they were, Axel would have told us."

"What would Axel tell you?" King Mickey snorted. "He's got his own agenda. Everybody does."

"Well…I won't deny that," DiZ agreed, allowing himself a small all-knowing smile. "All that gets in the way of fulfilling our agendas are our characters and personalities. Our mortality. Axel is bound by his obsession with Roxas and their _dead_ friendship. I, for one, am bogged down over the mess I've created. Naminé…she's a Nobody. And you, Your Majesty, have Sora and your Keyblade to worry about."

"And my world and the rest of the Universe," King Mickey added. "I _am_ a king. If there is a disturbance on the far side of the Universe, it's bound to stir up something in my boundaries. And that's why I'm here, and not with Sora and my two friends."

The mouse king sighed, then turned around, scratching his head. "Look, just…try and fix the problem. You know your reports. I don't want anything getting in the way of the chance to make things right and end this. I want to go home. So…fix it."

"As you wish, Your Majesty," DiZ said smoothly.

King Mickey then looked at Naminé, whose face was rather unreadable.

"Good luck," he simply said, then walked out of the room. Both DiZ and Naminé watched him go, then they looked at each other. The former king of Radiant Garden then tapped at his chin. After a long moment, he walked towards the door as well. He stopped by Naminé and placed a hand on her shoulder.

"Erase His Majesty's memories."

"Of course."

**Author's Endnote:** Damn Link and his ocarina music! Um…I don't know why I staged this scene in Castle Oblivion. Sorry. Comments? Questions? Reviews in general? Don't hate me because there Kairi, Roxas, Hayner, Olette, or Pence was here, okay? Okay!

Oh yeah and I can't wait for next week's update! You'll see why, bwahaha!


	14. YOU

**Author's Note:** Normally this scene would have _never_ taken place but I realized I needed a good filler in between certain scenes so I randomly came up with this after thinking about this place that sold boba and tonic, and it being in close proximity to these three great places I would LOVE to own: Coldstone Creamery, Starbucks, and Jamba Juice. Ah hell yeah! Welcome to SoCal's hangouts! That's getting away from the point, though. Oops.

**Disclaimer: **The characters, settings, and back story are copyrighted by Square-Enix and Disney. The storyline and original characters are mine, including a certain cameo by a certain someone from a certain story. The song I thought had the great mood for the chapter is _Find the Way_ by Mika Nakashima.

**A Walk In Andante**

**14 - YOU**

He looked at her, watched her quietly. He didn't want her to know he was watching her. She didn't seem to notice, as her eyes seemed stubbornly fixed on the steady stream of people flowing out of the train station.

"Is there something wrong with my hair?" she suddenly asked. Her blue eyes swiveled to him and Roxas flushed.

Okay, so she knew he was staring at her.

"No…there's nothing wrong…with your…hair," he muttered. "I was just…you feeling better?"

Kairi nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine. A bit tired but I'm getting better."

He smiled. "That's good news. Looking forward to our next training session."

She groaned. "Oh my god, I was hoping you'd forget."

"Kairi, you'll never get anywhere in life with that attitude," he said, stifling a laugh. "Fighting is never easy. Nor fun. Fighting's never fun. But that depends on the manner of your battles. After all…"

He abruptly stopped talking. Though she looked at him curiously, obviously hoping he'd continue, Roxas decided not to continue with his sentence and add that fighting multitudes of Heartless in the middle of a dark city only to be assaulted by a silver-haired man was a fun thing. It wasn't. Roxas later found out who that man was, and that made the whole situation worse. First Roxas beat him and fled, then the man came searching for him and smashed him up.

That was far from fun.

She was looking elsewhere now, her eyes seemingly transfixed on the tall woman in the long coat and high heels striding out of the train station with several passengers. She stood a head taller than everyone and even shadowed those nearest to her with the wide brim of her wine-red hat.

Roxas raised an eyebrow at the woman's attire; it wasn't _that_ cold yet. Then he looked at Kairi, found himself settling into a warm bubble of…something. Strange. He didn't know what that feeling was, except it was like a warm bubble of…something.

_What would you say if I told you your friend Riku kicked my ass? Would you lash out at him or at me? Sometimes I wonder where your loyalties lie. How much more…faithful…are you to Sora than…anybody else? What am I to you? Where do I stand in your life? I wonder…_

The clock tower was chiming the hour. Six tolls. It was officially evening. Roxas stood up and off the bench the two were sitting on and looked at Kairi.

"Wanna go to a café or something?" he asked as casually as possible. He had wanted to take her to one of those places for ages but for some strange reason, he never pursued that want. Once he had mentioned it but never reminded her; he still kicked himself around for not taking the chance when it came.

He always started getting nervous and somewhat jittery whenever he thought about asking her out to a café.

"I'm sorry?" Kairi said, her face quite confused. "Can you say that again?"

Roxas blinked. He replayed what he had just said.

"Wannagotoacaféorsomething?"

_Oh shit! Asshole!_

He took a deep breath, then slowly spelled out each word. He ended the last word a bit too fast and got ready to curse himself again. He looked elsewhere, felt heat creeping up his body from the soles of his feet. He felt rushed, like the wind had been knocked out of him.

"Sure, why not," he heard Kairi say. For some strange reason, he could feel – _feel_ – her smile as she said so. "Where to?"

Roxas looked at her, at the sudden blush of sunset red on her cheeks. In fact, the skies were now in full twilight bloom, and the colors of evening were playing across her face. She seemed to be glowing.

_There's a word, there's a-a sense…of something, something beyond my reach. It's there, I can feel it, I can sense it, but what is it? A word? A series of words? Or a feeling?_

"Roxas?"

He shook his head and mangled the thoughts. "I…well there's this place somewhere around here. Someone I kind of know works there. It's in this place…well, it's got a really cheesy name but it's a nice place all the same."

"What's it called?"

"The café or where the café's located?"

"Roxas…"

He scratched his head, felt embarrassed by the idiot question. He looked at her, was surprised at the flash of sad nostalgia in her eyes. Then she was smiling amusingly at him again.

"The café's called The White Lotus and it's located on this street with the really stupid name of Lover's Lane so…"

"Lover's Lane?" Kairi repeated. "There's actually a place called Lover's Lane?"

"Olette said that was its original name. Now it's something else but I can't remember…"

Kairi giggled. "Trust Olette to tell people those kinds of things."

"Yeah I know," Roxas said with a sheepish smile. "Well, do you want to go?"

She nodded, rose to her feet, and brushed imaginary dust off her pink dress. It looked like she was dusting off the sunset glow.

"And, um…" Well ever since that talk he had to Hayner a few nights ago, he had been thinking about the whole café deal, and that one little action, that…verb…he imagined in his head. It was a stupid way of putting it but his mind refused to actually describe it to him. He just knew what he wanted to do.

He fell silent as Kairi looked at him funny. A soft smile graced her lips. An evening breeze went by, tousling her red hair slightly. The long locks of hair looked like autumn.

"You were saying?" she remarked.

Roxas bit his tongue, swallowed, then held out his hand. She looked at him, at his outstretched hand, then at him again. In a rippling curtain, the amused look was replaced by a shy demeanor as she slowly reached out and slid her hand into his. He looked at her hand, at how slim it was, then noticed how slender his hand was, too, how their hands were so similar in shape and size.

He was pretty sure Sora had large hands.

_Strange. I thought…_

He looked at her, saw the surprise in her eyes, too. But then she smiled again, then tightened her fingers around his hand. He turned his hand slightly, mingling his fingers into hers. That brought her close to him, until they stood side by side. They were eye-to-eye.

"This way," he said quietly, then pulled her towards the Tram Plaza. Once there, he turned to a street and continued leading her towards the street with the romantically cheesy name of Lover's Lane. He didn't look at her, didn't want to look at her, but every once in a while, he would sneak a glance in her direction. She was staring at her feet. Once in a while, she'd look at her surroundings, but she made an apparently conscious effort not to look at him. He began to wonder whether he was doing something wrong when he nearly ran into a street lamp.

"Ow," he muttered at his stubbed toe while Kairi giggled.

"You should watch where you're going, Roxas," she said teasingly, poking him in the side. He jerked away but didn't let go of her hand.

"Thanks for the advice," he returned in humiliated monotone then continued down the street with her, being far more careful not to run into anything stupidly big, immobile, and obvious again.

He was sure this was the way to that street of cafes but he didn't think the distance would be so vast. So it was to his immense relief that he didn't lose them deep in Twilight Town instead when they finally came across a wide cobblestone street. He couldn't help but stare; he had been here several times before, courtesy of Olette, but he never got used to the…the feel of it. There were a variety of cafes lining the street. All had outdoor tables and chairs; some were gated and others were open to all. People were wandering about, some entering cafes, some leaving cafes, some sitting at the café tables, and others just…walking don the street. Mingled in with the cafes and hanging signs depicting coffee cups, flowers, horses, and teapots were little shops full of trinkets.

It was quiet…peaceful. And everyone here seemed to be with somebody else. Friends, lovers, family, he had no idea. But there were a lot more people than expected.

"Wow," he heard Kairi whisper.

"Impressive, huh?" he said agreeably. "This place always knocks me out."

Kairi nodded. "So…where's this White Lotus place you mentioned earlier?"

"The White Lotus?" Roxas pointed at a particular sign of a gracefully painted white flower. "That one over there."

As they started walking towards it, he heard her mutter, "I knew that."

He hid a smile as they approached the edges of the café's boundary, which was marked by a white fence. There was a gap where people came and went, and they went through it to an outdoor table.

"You do have munny, right?" Kairi asked quietly as they sat down on rather spindly chairs.

Roxas shook his head, still hiding a smile. "Kairi, why do you ask those questions?"

She grinned rather nervously, drummed her fingers on the table. "Wanted to make sure you weren't broke. I have a feeling you won't like it if we have to call up Hayner, Olette, or Pence to borrow munny to pay."

He looked at her, astonished and embarrassed. "That's really not funny. Thanks for the show of confidence."

She shrugged, looked rather airily elsewhere. "You're welcome."

_Are you still thinking about my not talking about my past? That's really not okay, Kairi. Can't you put that aside?_

"Hey, man, what's up? Who's this chick you're with?"

Roxas jumped out of his thoughts and stared up at the teenager with the mop of silver hair, the lip ring, and the thick pad of paper in his hand. The waiter was standing right next to his chair and Roxas hadn't noticed.

"Oh hey…Kobi…" Roxas muttered.

Said teenager tilted his pen in Kairi's direction. "So who's this chick you're with? Can't believe you're actually with a girl, especially-"

"Actually, we're just friends," Kairi interrupted with a smile. She sounded a bit professional and cold. "You were saying?"

Kobi raised an eyebrow, then looked at Roxas." O-okay, moving on now…so, what would you two like? How about-"

"No."

"Aw, c'mon, man, you really ought to have it. I swear I don't know why you wouldn't have it whenever you came here with Olette-"

"We're friends, Kobi. So is she. Don't recommend anything or we might as well leave."

The waiter scowled. "Fine, man. You two want frappachinos?"

Roxas looked at Kairi, at the 'yes' smile on her face. "Sure."

"Chocolate syrup or caramel?"

"Chocolate."

"Caramel."

"Whipped cream?"

"Yeah."

"Sure."

"And I'm guessing you want that chocolate cake slice you always have when you come here-"

"Yes, Kobi. That's all today."

"Fine, fine, just trying to get me away so you can have some 'time' with your chick-"

"Kobi."

The teenage waiter rolled his eyes and stiffly moved off to attend to another table. Kairi actually turned her head to follow the waiter for several seconds. Then she looked at Roxas. She had a questioning look in her face.

"Ignore him. I met him a while back while going around with the trio. He can get…obnoxious at times…"

"He ought to get along with Pence," Kairi remarked.

"They're related. Mom's side."

"Oh…that explains a lot."

"Yeah, it does."

Silence ensued. He looked down at his feet, his hand resting on the table and his fingers drumming away on the surface. He had no idea what Kairi was doing but he had a feeling she was staring off into space, lost in thought. His ears picked up the sounds of music playing on speakers somewhere.

どうして君は小さな手で  
傷を背負おうとするのだろう?  
誰かの為だけじゃない見失わないで  
どうして僕は迷いながら  
逃げ出すこと出来ないのだろう?  
望むのは光射す日を日を...

_Why is that, with your small hands,  
You try to carry the burden of this wound?  
It's not for someone else's sake, so you've lost sight  
Why do I, when I'm lost,  
I can't seem to escape?  
You need to see the light, the light..._

"What are you thinking about?" he heard Kairi say, in a soft, soft voice. He looked at her, into her myriad blue eyes, at the gentle expression on her face. She looked completely at ease with him and the café, which was a good thing because he didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable. He never did.

He shrugged. "I was listening to the music."

She smiled. "It's a nice song. Kind of sad…"

"Yeah, it is," he agreed just as quietly. They stared at each other for a few more seconds, then broke contact and he looked away.

FIND THE WAY  
輝く宇宙に手は届かなくても  
響く愛だけ頼りに  
進んだ道の先光が見つかるから  
YOU'LL FIND THE WAY

_FIND THE WAY  
If you can't reach the sparkling sky with your hands  
Rely on the love that echoes within  
and push ahead on this road till you find the light  
YOU'LL FIND THE WAY_

"So where's this…friend of yours?" Kairi finally said.

He shrugged. "If I knew, I'd tell you."

"Yeah…I know…"

As if they had called his name by talking about him, the waiter appeared. Well, maybe he did overhear them.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, talking behind my back, eh?" Kobi said smartly, depositing the two tall glasses and the small dish with the dark chocolate cake slice with two forks on the table. "Very funny, you two. I didn't like that one bit. I expect a bigger tip when you two leave."

"How about no tip," Kairi suggested lightly, pulling the glass piled with whipped cream and drizzled with caramel syrup towards her, "since you keep nagging us _about_ us?"

Kobi scowled, then looked at Roxas. "That chick? Pure evil. Stay away from her, man."

Roxas looked at him funny. "I'll keep that in mind when I meet one. Shoo?"

The waiter shrugged, then walked off. He looked at Kairi, who was busy hiding her laughter in her hand and making a failed attempt to hide it completely.

"This guy annoys me," he admitted as he picked up his drink and took a mouthful of it. Later, the brain freeze struck.

君は言った永い夢をみた  
とても哀しい夢だったと  
それでもその姿は少しも曇らない  
僕言った泣ていいんだと  
ずっと傍にいてあげるよ  
欲しいのは抱き上げる手を手を...

_You said you had a long dream  
A very sad dream  
But still, that image has not been dimmed at all  
I told you that it's okay to cry  
I'll be here to lift you up  
All I want is to take your hand, you hand..._

"Do all cafes play sad songs?" Kairi asked idly as she picked at the cake slice with her fork.

"Have you ever been to a café?"

"Destiny Island is not a very big place."

"So…no, right?"

"Roxas…"

He smiled, took another sip of his drink. He was more careful now; the brain freeze was far from pleasant.

"Um…Roxas?"

"Yeah?"

"Why are people staring at us?"

"What?" Roxas sat up and looked around wildly.

"Roxas! Don't do that! People are going to notice!" Kairi hissed. Roxas ducked his head, looked at her sheepishly.

"Sorry…"

He fine-tuned what his ears picked up and threw out in order to listen in on the people who were staring at them. Surely they were saying something, right?

"…he's so hot…"

That wasn't what he was looking for. Roxas winced at the embarrassing compliment.

"…how'd she get hair like that…"

Must be a jealous date.

"…they're so cute together…"

Wait, wait, wait, what? What!

He quickly looked at her, wondered if she heard that last statement. Kairi seemed rather focused on attacking the chocolate cake, though, so he felt safe not to mention it.

"…they're so adorable, so perfect…"

_Perfect's the last thing you should be saying, lady. If only you knew who the hell we are…_

"This is really good."

"Really?" He tore his focus away from other people and turned to her.

"Yeah," Kairi nodded, then held up a forkful of cake on her fork. "Want some?"

"Are you going to feed me that?" he asked rather stupidly and incredulously.

Kairi grinned darkly. "Either you do it willingly or I force-feed you."

"You've got to be kidding me…"

_Hey, I know who Sora is, Kairi. He's going to kill me for this one, I swear! He'll have memories of a stranger being fed by the girl he loves and then where will we all go? Where will we all…be?_

FIND THE WAY  
言葉なくても飛ぶ翼はなくても  
乱す風に負けぬ様に  
今誰より早く痛みに気付けたなら...

_FIND THE WAY  
When there are no word, and no wings to fly with,  
Don't be thrown in chaos by the wind and lose  
You need to realize your pain faster than anyone else..._

Now they were talking in rather animated fashion about the antics of their friends. Roxas related to her a story of a prank Olette and Pence played on Hayner, which only worked because Olette and Pence lived so far away from each other; Olette called Hayner, telling him Pence needed to see him about something. But once Hayner got to his house, Pence said that Olette called and it was an emergency, so Hayner ran to Olette's house. Olette then informed him that Pence wanted to see him about some secret crush and Hayner was forced to run all the way back and…

Hayner was winded and very, deeply unhappy with the ordeal he had just gone through. Olette and Pence seemed to be dying of laughter at the time.

Although Roxas knew who they were, he remained quiet and attentive as Kairi described her other friends at Destiny Island, the ones called Selphie, Tidus, and Wakka. She said Tidus and Wakka were now deeply involved in blitzball, a sport at the high school they went to. She talked about her friendship with Selphie, who was one year younger than her and looked up to Kairi as a sister and role model.

"I don't know why she thinks of me as her role model," she remarked as she pushed around the crumbles of dark cake on the plate in the middle of the table. "I mean, I never really pay attention at school and I don't really hang out with Tidus and Wakka anymore. We all used to be really close but…but some things…happened…"

She sighed and dropped the fork. Roxas winced at the vibrating sound of impact and looked at her. There was a forlorn look on her face, an expression of sadness that gave him a strange sinking feeling.

"Like what?" Roxas asked, knowing full well what had happened.

_Sora and Riku. Kingdom Hearts. That's what happened, right Kairi? Right?_

答えを出すこときっとすべてじゃない  
焦らなくていいんだよ あなたも...

_Surely, there's no answer for everything.  
But there's no reason for you, to be impatient about it..._

They had fallen silent again. The lull, the quiet murmurs of the conversations around them filled in for their lack of words. But Roxas didn't mind not saying anything. He never really did.

That was pretty much a lie, given how talkative he's been for a while but…

He looked at her, snuck in a peek, watched her as she studied the people in The White Lotus. She had her elbows propped up on the table, her head resting on the platform her hands offered her. In the low light of the outdoors, the white ring seemed to glow.

FIND THE WAY  
輝く宇宙に手は届かなくても  
響く愛だけ頼りに  
進んだ道の先光が見つかるから

_FIND THE WAY  
If you can't reach the sparkling sky with your hands  
Rely on the love that echoes within  
And push ahead on this road till you find the light_

"Kairi?"

"Hmm?"

"Um…you left this…the other time," he said, pulling out her necklace, with that little white circle of stone dangling from the dark string, from his pocket. He placed it on the table in the space between them.

"Oh…I forgot about that," Kairi said, staring down at it. She laughed about it nervously, then reached out for it. She hesitated for a second, then slowly wrapped her fingers around the necklace and took it back.

Silence.

He stared at the table, wasn't sure of what to do next. What did he want to do? He wasn't sure of it. Maybe he didn't know because there wasn't really anything he wanted now. It was all there.

_There's nothing more I desire. I have what I want, don't I? It's enough, isn't it? But…there's something…missing…_

"Roxas?"

"Yeah?"

"What are you thinking?"

He looked at her rather sharply but was met with a stiff rebuttal. Instantly, his defensiveness relaxed and he blinked.

"I…"

_Your eyes. What's that word? It's there…no it's not. It's gone. It's not lost but…I can't say it. I can't form the word. Why?_

"I was just listening to the music," he said quietly.

FIND THE WAY  
言葉なくても飛ぶ翼はなくても  
乱す風に負けぬ様に  
進んだ道の先確かな光を見た...

YOU'LL FIND THE WAY

_FIND THE WAY  
When there are no words, and no wings to fly with,  
Don't be thrown in chaos by the wind and lose  
Push ahead on this road, and you will certainly find the light..._

_YOU'LL FIND THE WAY_

"Okay, so ready to pay?" Kobi had reappeared. "And tip. Don't forget the tip. Or the next time you come here I'm not giving you anything."

"Kobi, we could just ask another waiter," Roxas retorted while rolling his eyes.

"'We', eh? You planning to come back here with this here chick-"

"Kobi!" Roxas sputtered. The guy was just so damn persistent! And how'd he pick _that_ up? He's just like Hayner!

"For your information," the 'chick' interjected quite calmly, "my name is Kairi."

"Ah…right. You're one of those chicks who like to assert themselves, eh? Female power, right? Right?"

"Oh my god…" Roxas groaned, rubbing his right temple. "Please, Kobi, here."

He pulled munny out of his pocket and dumped it in the waiter's hand. "Keep whatever's left over. Now will you _please_ go away?"

"Will do," Kobi grinned. Apparently he could tell Roxas had given him more than necessary for pay and tip. The waiter _pranced_ away as Roxas pressed against his other temple and sighed.

"Remind me to put a paper bag on my head the next time we come here," he muttered, thoroughly embarrassed.

"Aw, cheer up," Kairi said with a gentle smile. She reached over and pulled his left hand away from his head, covered it in both of hers. "He was funny, if you think about it."

He looked at her optimistic face, felt the smile grow on him. Roxas cleared his throat, said, "Yeah, I guess so…"

Warmth. From the nothingness came a velvet heat. Puzzled, he looked around, wondering at the source. Then he looked down at his hand, at her fingers as they stroked the back of his hand. She seemed to be lost in thought. She had a wistful gaze as she tilted her head slightly and her hair cascaded downward in a burnished curtain. Roxas involuntarily swallowed and tried to look elsewhere.

"Where…where do we go?" he thought he heard her say. "What's up ahead? What…"

She sighed, then looked at him.

"Where to now?"

"Where do you want to go?" Roxas echoed.

"How about…" Kairi leaned back, looked down the street. "Let's look around. I like this place."

"So do I," he agreed. He tugged at his hand but she tightened her hold on it. He looked at her quizzically but she only smiled.

"Uh…Kairi?"

She touched the ring on his finger with her thumb, then stood up, pushing the chair behind her with her foot. "Let's go."

Kairi nearly dragged him out of the café; Roxas almost crashed into a table on the way out. He stumbled out, then the tip of his shoe got caught in a rather wide crack on the ground and he fell over.

"Ha, ha, you clumsy idiot," Kairi laughed as he sat on his bottom and rubbed his knee. A series of curses ran through his mind and a few escaped his mouth.

"Aren't you gonna get up?" she asked while he looked around and noticed that other people had noticed his brilliant walking skills. He then looked at her, and grinned.

"Nah…too lazy."

She walked up to him and held out her hand. "Oh get up, you lazy…"

…_bum_, he finished silently for her as she went silent. He saw her shake, take a small step back, but her outstretched hand still offered. He looked up at her, at the suddenly dark and sorrowful eyes.

_I know what you're thinking._

He took her hand, wrapped his fingers around her palm as she pulled him to his feet. She pulled a bit forcefully – maybe she had become nervous or something – and he stumbled into her, shoving her against wall of the buildings on the other side of Lover's Lane.

He heard her surprised breathing, the rapid intake and outtake of breath as he opened his eyes and stared at her jaw line. He closed his eyes, felt an unexplainable warmth flood through his entire body, felt a pressure that came and went at a rapid pace against him.

"Roxas," she whispered. Maybe she wanted him off but there was a lilt in her voice, a whisper that looped around his neck and held him there.

He knew she didn't want him to go away. Not yet. Not yet.

_But I have to, don't I?_

He pulled back, heard a sigh loose from her. He looked at her; she was staring straight ahead, her face flushed, but then she tilted her head slightly to look at him. Something seemed to be stirring in the back of her mind. Something was alive inside him.

He no longer looked at her eyes, felt his gaze drawn elsewhere. Elsewhere…her lips, her mouth, the slight space, the gap running between the rosy dusting…he could see the warm living air flow out into the evening, see cold freshness rush in…

Closer…he leaned closer…

…_he opened his mouth, let her try the kiss, let her try what he had done to her. He had opened her up, made her more willing, and now he was letting her. He felt her slide in, brushing by the inside of his cheek, and he shook from the caress. It was nothing he's ever felt and experienced before. And he loved it. That was the word. He loved it…_

"Roxas…"

He opened his eyes. A deep blue sea swallowed him.

"Roxas…Roxas…"

He could feel the movement of air, felt the hot air fill him, enter him. He could _feel_ her lips move as she mouthed his name, despite the distance between them. She was whispering it and he-he loved it. He loved it. Like the kiss in the dream, he loved the sound of her voice whispering into his ear.

_What are you doing, Roxas? Roxas, you shouldn't be doing this. You shouldn't try to turn that dream into reality. Stop it, Roxas. Stop it. Stop it!_

He tried to understand. It wasn't happening. The understanding wasn't coming. No revelations, no enlightenment. He-he wanted…but he didn't…couldn't…he was frozen, he couldn't move. He…he knew she didn't want him to…what? No, she didn't want him to go away. She wanted him closer…closer…but at the same time, her voice was begging him to stop, to back away.

Roxas stepped back, away from her. His jaw felt loosely hinged; he feared all the words he would try to utter would come out garbled and unworked. His apology would never make it in complete form. He took another shaky step back and nearly fell.

She had her back to the wall, had her whole weight against the high-rising building. Kairi looked at him as though in a daze; she looked oddly…vulnerable. Exposed. Open. He felt the urge to touch her, to run his fingertip along the curved jaw and feel her, but he suppressed it. He was now frightened, truly frightened. This shouldn't be happening…and it was.

"I…" His voice was barely there. He cleared his throat, then tried again. "I'm…I'm sorry."

She looked at him. Her eyes were pleading him, begging him. All she wanted as an answer. An answer to what had just taken place, an answer to the dynamics of their relationship. Could they keep this up…or will something happen between them?

He wasn't looking, he was staring at his feet, but he heard her step towards him. Towards _him_. Roxas.

"I'm sorry, too," she said with a murmur. Her hand reached out, intertwined with his. She held it tightly, gave it a squeeze, then said, "Look up, Roxas. Look at me. It's okay. It's okay…"

He did. He looked at her. And right away he knew what she was thinking.

It was not okay. She knew, he knew, that something was happening and it was wrong. Something was going to happen…and nobody was going to like it.

Least of all them.

**Authors' Endnote:** Heehee…I know, that in the back of your minds, you're screaming and pulling your hair out and wondering, "WHY!" And uh, I gotta go so yeah, comments, questions, review please, thanks.


	15. Disney

**Author's Note:** I'm updating twice this weekend for two reasons. One, this is a REALLY short chapter so why bother waiting one week only to get something so short and measly? Two, it seems people misinterpreted something that happened near the end of the previous chapter. I was hoping people understood the use if _italics_ but since they don't, I'll clarify – the only reason _italics_ occurred was because I was referring to a dream in the chapter _Intertwine Desire._ Yeah, I think that should clear things up. Hopefully. I don't want to spoil anything, although mistaken understanding potentially led to the ruination of this story – okay, I'll shut up. If you have questions, message me, IM me, e-mail me, review, whatever. Okay? Okay!

**Disclaimer:** The characters, settings, and back story are copyrighted by Square-Enix and Disney. The storyline and original characters are mine, although I don't think there's any original characters in this chapter. Oops.

Enjoy.

**A Walk In Andante**

**15 - Disney**

The castle had been awfully quiet for some time now. It was a lull setting on the castle like the buzzing of bees. In fact, there were bees occupying the garden's late summer bloom but there was no Goofy to blunder through and instigate the outraged bees to swarm and sting him.

Or Pluto.

Nope. None at all.

Daisy sighed, dropped her hands down and clasped them in front of her. It was funny, she thought, how puffy her dress was. Her hands weren't resting against her stomach; they were resting against the dress.

Was she really that bored she would think about this?

"Oh Your Majesty!" she said, coming out of her reverie to see the Queen standing there next to her. She hadn't heard the Queen approach. Daisy quickly curtsied. "How are you?"

Queen Minnie looked at her, then out the window into the garden. "It's so hard, waiting…waiting for him to come home. That's all."

Daisy sighed. "I know. It is hard…but what can we do? We're the last defenses of this world. We can't…just go out and find them. You know that, Your Majesty. Don't you?"

Queen Minnie nodded, then turned and began to walk off. She then stopped again, looked at Daisy.

"Have you seen Merlin lately?"

Daisy shook her head. "I have but that was a few days ago. He'd gone to visit the Sorcerer, Yen Sid. He said something was happening and he was going to find out if he can help."

"What's happening?"

"I don't know. He wouldn't say anything when I asked."

"Is that so…" Queen Minnie mused. "If Merlin comes back, direct him to me. I want to know why he left. I want to know what's going on out there."

She turned smartly and continued out of the hall. Daisy watched the Queen leave with a sadness.

"Just wait a little while, Your Majesty, Minnie. He'll come home…"

**Author's Endnote:** Yeah, it was a short chapter, see? I thought too many people messed with only the FF and the KH side of the story so here we are. Questions, comments, rants, clarifications, et al, please include in your reviews, thanks.

And a surprise: Any of you know _Best Deceptions_? Yeah, it's due for an update. Hopefully by next week. Cheers!


	16. HEAVEN

**Author's Note:** I daresay the chapters are improving in length and depth. If not in length, then in depth, and if not in depth…well, there would be no length. Unfortunately, I was forced to put off _Best Deceptions_ this week due to an intense class in character design at Pasadena Center of Art and Design that devoured much of my time. You people should also listen to Utada Hikaru's album _ULTRA BLUE_. Seriously.

**Disclaimer:** The characters, settings, and back story are copyrighted by Square-Enix and Disney. The storyline and original characters are mine. The song which lent its title to the chapter's title and is also used here is HEAVEN by Ayumi Hamasaki. The song really is amazing.

**A Walk In Andante**

**16 - HEAVEN**

_She knew she was dreaming and yet it felt so real. She could _smell_ the salt in the sea. And then there was wind, the cold night wind. She shivered._

"_I'm back," Kairi whispered as she opened her eyes, knowing what she would see._

_The moon was a pale silver orb in the sky, a glowing white pulse that cast everything before her in a silvery glow. The water was dark, with light blue ripples running across the surface. The beach was gray, with hints of blue. The sky was a clear, clear night black with glaring white pinpricks scattered throughout; the stars were beautiful._

_She stood midway between the sea and the massive trees in the middle of Destiny Islands. Her white and purple shoes cuffed at the whitish sand as she moved her eyes and saw Sora watching the sea again. He was watching the moon again._

_She cocked her head to the side, watched him. His hair was shorter, the spikes less controlled. She smiled a bit at the red jumpsuit, knew she missed it as soon as she saw him wearing those black and blue clothes. At least in dreams she'll be able to picture him as he was before the Heartless came._

_Except…except it was just the two of them. Riku wasn't there. Selphie wasn't there. Tidus wasn't there. Wakka wasn't there. It was just…the two of them. Was she so focused on Sora that she pushed out all her other friends, the ones she held so dear in her heart?_

_No, not two. They were not alone. Even here she remembered the previous dream she had, the one that frightened her. And she knew, she _knew_ without looking, without hearing, that _he_ was here. The stranger._

How do I know he's here? It's not even just a feeling. It's like…automatic. I know he's here. I know he's here for me. How do I…know this? I don't even know who he is, and yet…I know where he is. It's…innate.

_Not even her relationship with Sora could challenge that._

_Her ear picked up the faint sound of shifting sand, and her arms prickled at a presence coming near her. Kairi didn't turn around, though. She didn't have to. She had no fear._

_There was a slight pressure on her shoulder and she tilted her head slightly, saw a black-gloved hand resting on it. The moonlight was dim gray upon it. She stared at it, then he started caressing her shoulder gently, sliding over her shoulder and halfway down her upper arm, then back up again. She sighed, shivered at the pleasurable touch._

"…_hello," he whispered into her ear. It was a faint, hesitant greeting, but one nonetheless. "Do you…remember me?"_

_It came to her that this could be more than a dream. But the thought passed. In dreams, anything could happen._

"_I remember…" she murmured. "Always remember…"_

_She could feel him smile._

最期に君が微笑んで  
真っすぐに差し出したものは  
ただあまりに綺麗すぎて  
こらえきれず涙溢れた

_(What you offered straight to me  
__With a smile for the last time  
__Was just so beautiful  
__That I gave way to tears)_

_The moonlight was intense. She covered her eyes, tried to shield out the brilliant white light. It was brighter than the sun._

"_I know," he said._

_She closed her eyes now, could see the light through her eyelids. When her eyes closed, she began to sense everything else, the smell of the sea, the salty taste of the air, the sound of the rippling waves, and feel his hand on her shoulder. Then she felt something hot and silky smooth on her neck, felt it slide up and down slowly, lazily. She shuddered as he continued to kiss her neck, slowly yet carelessly._

"…_hey…" she whispered, turning her head to ask him to stop before he overwhelmed her, but instead he pulled away from her neck and pressed his mouth against hers._

あの日きっとふたりは愛に触れた

_(Surely, that day  
__The two of us touched love)_

_She sighed as he slowly turned her around until she was facing him. She pressed her body against his and he wrapped an arm around her holding her close. Through the kiss she peeked up at him. Still she saw nothing under that black hood, except for the long strands of pale hair. As he pulled back, she raised a hand and touched the ends of his hair. He did nothing, then said quietly, "It's okay. Go ahead."_

_She swallowed, then slowly slid her hand under the hood and touched the side of his face. She pulled away, looked elsewhere, felt herself blush at the touch._

Why am I doing this? I shouldn't be doing this…and he knows, too.

_It came to her then that he knew as well as she did who that person was, standing at the edge of the sea. She looked at him, at the bangs shrouding his eyes, then whispered, "You know."_

_He nodded. "I do."_

"_Then why…"_

"_I don't know."_

_He leaned over and kissed her again._

私達は探し合って  
時に自分を見失って  
やがて見つけ合ったのなら  
どんな結末が待っていても

_(We sought for each other  
__Lost ourselves at times  
__And found each other at last  
__So whatever result may be waiting for us)_

"_How can you not know?" she asked in a trembling voice when he finally pulled back. She felt all torn up inside, like her heart was tearing up. She knew. He knew. And yet…_

_She turned her head, saw Sora staring across the sea._

"_Why won't he turn around?" she wondered. "Why won't he answer whenever I call?"_

"_I can't answer that," he said. "I'm sorry."_

_She looked at him, swallowed because her throat felt dry. She could see the wry smile, reached up, and touched his lip. She traced it, then his jaw line, then touched the side of his face again. His skin was cool to the touch._

"_Don't say that," she murmured as she pressed her lips against his lightly. "Don't…"_

"_Do you…" She loved the feel of his mouth moving against hers. She sighed again, with the uncertain peace of this dream. "Do you love him?"_

_She froze, pulled away from him. She looked at him, bit her lip as he watched her, waiting for an answer. He was neither smiling nor frowning, and didn't have his lips pressed into a thin line, either._

"_I…I don't know," she heard herself say._

"_Speak the truth."_

"_I don't know," she repeated, felt her throat tremble as the words vibrated out of her mouth. "I really don't know…"_

"_You know."_

_She swallowed, nodded slowly. "So do you."_

_He leaned his head against hers. "I had to hear it from you. That way, I would know. I'm sorry."_

"_I said-" she began but he leaned over and kissed her._

運命と呼ぶ以外他にはない

_(It's nothing but  
__Destiny)_

"_I don't care," he said quietly, pulling back, but she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him back into another kiss, one with more passion. She roamed his mouth, wondered ever so briefly if she could ever do the same with Sora._

No, never the same. I can't do this with Sora. He was the first. Always will be the first. I'm sorry, Sora. I still love you, but…

_He caressed the inside of her mouth in the same gentle manner as the other dream she had days ago, when they first encountered one another on the dark shores of Destiny Islands. She closed her eyes, intensified the feel of it._

_La la la la la la la la la la_

_La la la la la la la la la la_

"_Do you love me?" she murmured, her eyes still closed, while he nibbled at her bottom lip. She already knew. He already knew._

"_You know."_

"_I know."_

"_Then why'd you ask?"_

"_Because…I wanted to know if you'll say differently," she whispered._

"_You know I can't love you."_

"_Yes."_

"_You love him. You could have rejected me. Why didn't you?"_

"_Because…" It was difficult to say. She perused over the best approach, and found none. She sighed, opened her eyes, saw the shrouded face. "Because…there was something about you…you took me by surprise when you kissed me…but I loved it. I wanted to kiss you back. And after that…it got out of control, I guess. I don't know; I…I feel something for you, but I don't know if it's love."_

"_Neither do I," he said, and Kairi realized what was going through his mind._

"_I'm sorry. I wish that maybe…maybe if things worked out differently-"_

"_It's too late."_

"_I know. But if only."_

"_If only."_

君が旅立ったあの空に  
優しく私を照らす星が光った

_(In the sky you set out for  
__Stars are shining tenderly upon me)_

_She smiled softly and he returned it with a tenderness and sadness that pained her. Kairi blinked, found her vision blurring around the edges, and quickly wiped at her face. She was not crying._

Why am I having this dream? Why am I feeling these emotions? Why am I…falling in love with someone I don't even know and doesn't even exist? Why?

"_Will we meet again?"_

_He touched her face, gently brushed away her short bangs. Kairi looked at him, wished that this _was_ real, not just a dream._

"_What are dreams? They lead us to anywhere. Don't worry. I'm still here."_

_Kairi pulled her arms away, held them close to her body, and tried to control the impending sadness. She shook her head._

"_I wish you were always here."_

側にいて愛する人時を超えて形を変えて  
ふたりまだ見ぬ未来がここに  
ねえこんなにも残ってるから

_(Stay by my side, my love  
__Crossing over time and changing your shape  
__You see? The future we haven't yet seen  
__Remains here like this)_

"_No matter where you are," he said, taking her hands into his and holding them tightly, "even if this is but a dream, I'll still be with you. Even if it's but a dream."_

"_You know this is a dream?" she asked, surprised._

"_Don't you?"_

_She nodded miserably. He then leaned close, whispered into her ear._

"_Go to him. You must."_

_She knew. He pulled his arms away and took a step back. She watched him. There was no emotion in the bottom half of his face. Only the pain was in his voice._

_Kairi slowly took a step backwards as well, felt her feet sink into the sand. There was a certain resolve in her heart; it must be done, it had to be, yet she knew he would always be there, somewhere just beyond her reach, watching and waiting. Waiting to catch her if she fell._

Who would catch me if I fall?

_She looked at him, wanted to remember his shrouded face. She stared at him hard, hoped the memory was firmly etched in her mind, then slowly turned and searched for Sora. He was now pacing along the shoreline, his eyes fixed on the moonlit horizon. He seemed to be seeking, searching, looking for something. Or someone._

_Her._

側にいて愛する人時を超えて形を変えて  
ふたりまだ見ぬ未来がここに  
残ってるから

_(Stay by my side, my love  
__Crossing over time and changing your shape  
__The future we haven't yet seen  
__Remains here)_

_She swallowed, almost turned her head again, but caught herself. She knew now that if she turned her head to find the stranger, she'll never go to Sora. She knew she'd run back into his arms and kiss him. She wanted to kiss him. He wanted her to kiss him. But they both knew. They had both agreed._

_And it hurt her so much._

_Kairi swallowed again, then called out, in a shaky voice, "Sora?"_

_He turned, saw her, and a large smile, genuine with joy, appeared on his face. That smile, that face, the very image of him sparked something deep inside her. She felt her own face light up with a lighthearted grin of her own, then ran to him. She didn't know why she was holding back, why it took her so long to call out his name when she first spotted him._

"_Sora!"_

_He ran to her, opened his arms, and hugged her tightly. She returned it with an even tighter embrace, holding him close and feeling the comfort of his body. She leaned against him, her ear hearing his heart beating steadily, steadily. She pressed even closer, wanted to make sure she'll never forget what it's like to hug him, hold him close. He rested his head against hers, whispered, "Where were you, Kairi? I was looking for you everywhere…"_

"_I'm sorry," she answered. "I was looking for you, too…"_

_She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, then opened them again only to see what looked like stardust falling down all around the two. She gasped, stepped back slightly, was in awe of the radiant pinpricks of light falling all around her. Then she looked at Sora, and gasped. Then she was smiling with joy, pure joy._

_One year later. It was twilight. The sky above the islands was beautifully streaked with purples and blues and reds and yellows and oranges. A few stars winked in the light. She looked at Sora, touched his black jacket, fingered the fabric, then looked at his older face and smiled again. He brushed her long red hair to the side with his hand. His bright blue eyes were on her, transfixed, and he murmured ever so softly, "You're so beautiful."_

_She blushed. "Thank you…"_

_For the strangest of moments she wanted to look behind her, to where the ground rose up and met the great trees in the middle of the islands. She didn't know why. Instead she looked up at the sky. The sky was clear except for a few weightless clouds and the streaks of twilight across the wide, wide canvas. There were a few more stars dotting the high heavens._

_Then Sora took her hand in his, wove her fingers with his until they interlocked, and started pulling her towards the sea._

"_Sora?"_

"_Trust me, Kairi. We'll go together. Just like before. Just like we promised. Remember?"_

_She smiled, felt her vision blur as she remembered the promises they made to each other._

Wherever you go, I'm always with you.

Remember what you said before? I'm always with you, too. I'll come back to you. I promise.

_Her feet didn't sink into the lapping white waves. They were walking on water. She gasped in delight, looked at him with surprise. He smiled, then leaned over, and brushed his lips over hers. He pulled back, shyer than before, but still managed to say, "I…I love you, Kai."_

_This had to be a dream. This _had_ to be a dream. She flushed, then found herself returning the kiss fiercely. Sora let her hand go, wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her to him. She touched his face, let her fingers skim over the smooth skin, and she smiled through the kiss. _

_Slowly, reluctantly, they broke apart, but only a distance of inches hung between them. She murmured softly, "I love you, too, Sora…"_

_He kissed her again, then took her hand and took a step towards the blood red sun. She followed willingly, wanted to go with him, wherever. Together. Just like always. For eternity. _

_Except…something was missing. _

_Something was wrong._

信じて愛する人私の中で君は生きる  
だからこれから先もずっと  
サヨナラなんて言わない

_(Trust me, my love  
__You live within me  
__So I'll never  
__Say good-bye to you)_

_As they kept walking towards the sunset, hand in hand, something tugged at her heart. Something was trying to hold her back, was trying to tell her to turn around. But Kairi knew she wouldn't, couldn't. No, everything was right now, everything was finally the way it should be. She had waited for a year and finally they were together again. It was just the two of them, right?_

_That's the way things should be. That's the way things should always be._

_But the farther they walked across the seascape, the stronger the tugging was on her heart. She didn't turn when a voice came winging with the sea breeze. It was a voice that sounded strangely familiar but one she couldn't place._

_Then she looked up at the sky and saw the three bluish shooting stars slowly falling through the firmament. Kairi gasped and stopped. Sora did, too, and looked at her curiously._

"_Kairi?"_

_And then she heard the voice again. It carried her back, all the way back to the cool moonlit nights on Destiny Islands and the embrace of the lover whose face she had never seen, whose name she had never asked for._

"_I love you."_

あの日きっとふたりは愛に触れた

_(Surely, that day  
__The two of us touched love)_

_She cried out, whirled around, tearing her hand away from Sora's grasp._

"_Kairi!"_

_For a moment she saw the stranger, cloaked in the long dark coat and hood. Then behind her and Sora flashed an incredible blinding light and she winced at the burning reflection of light on the water. When the bright white light vanished, it was day. And what seemed like miles ahead, all the way to the shores of Destiny Islands, was someone standing where that stranger was. Roxas. She gasped again, looked back at Sora. He was looking at Kairi, his eyes were fixated on her. She looked at Roxas again, then at Sora. Sora had no reaction to the person across the water; he could not see Roxas. And Roxas couldn't see Sora. _

_Kairi stood, wavering, hovering unsteadily between them. She was caught between a rock and a hard place. No, not again, not again!_

_But while her eyes remained fixated on Sora's face and the bemusement in his eyes, she found herself taking a step forward, back towards the shore, to where Roxas was standing, silent and unmoving. But with that step, her foot sank into the water._

_No, she fell right through the sea, like she was falling through air. She screamed in shock as she tumbled in the nothingness, saw Sora look down at her in horror and reach out desperately to grasp her, but he vanished in the melting ripples of the water's surface. She reached for him but he was gone. All her eyes took in was the rippling bluish surface, the light shining down on her in its muted form. She was sinking, falling, falling down into the watery depths, the darkness._

You know what is wrong. You know what you need to do.

"_No, I don't, I don't," she whispered, sobbed. The voice was relentless._

_It was the voice of that blonde girl, the one with her face._

Do not destroy the connection. You're overturning all that's been laid out, jeopardizing the future you strive for. Stop.

"_Stop what? Stop what! Leave me alone!"_

_Her voice echoed jarringly in the emptiness._

Don't you know? Or are you afraid?

"_I'm not afraid of anything!" she screamed. Oh, please, just leave her alone! "Leave me alone!"_

_She screamed when the voice tried to speak again._

**Author's Endnote:** Actually, I thought this chapter would be longer. In any case, please press that little button down in the bottom left-hand corner – yes, right there – and review. Thoughts, comments, potential flamers that might incite me to write a fiery rejoinder, questions – answered fifty percent of the time – regarding whatever, and compliments – always welcomed with enthusiasm. Death threats, the Mafia, and man-eating penguins are always welcome of course.

And did I mention Yellowcard's _Lights and Sounds_ is amazing?


	17. Tabula Rasa

**Author's Note:** Monty Python is a great way to distract people but that's not the point. Uh…new chapter and uh, I guess this is more of the back story. Yeah, no 'action' here if that's what you were expecting, har har har. I wrote this because I made a huge mistake regarding the storyline. Oops.

**Disclaimer:** The characters, settings, and back story are copyrighted by Square-Enix and Disney. The storyline and original characters are mine. The chapter title is in reference to a philosophical idea known as 'clean slate'. I suggest you look it up; you might learn something interesting.

**A Walk In Andante**

**17 – Tabula Rasa**

"Where do you think you're going?"

Naminé stopped shuffling paper, then straightened herself and turned to DiZ. She noted the critical gaze in his visible yellow eye.

"I'm leaving temporarily," she answered smartly, with a very noticeable emphasis on 'temporarily'.

"And why's that, may I ask?" DiZ asked slowly, circling the long white table she was leaning against. "What business have you outside these walls?

He made a slight gesture to the white walls of the room.

"I…I just have to step out of here, get out of this place for a while. I need to think-"

"Who are you meeting?"

Naminé stared at him, her eyes wide. "How-how-"

" You're not one to go and leave as you please. You act with a purpose and reason. You're going to meet someone. Who may that be? Axel? Hayner? Roxas? Kairi? Or Sora, perhaps?"

Sora.

Naminé had to turn away. She leaned against the table, felt her arms tremble. Se still couldn't understand why the mere mention of the name caused this reaction in her. There were traces of Kairi in her but how strong were they? Were they enough to cause her to react to the name of the one the Princess of Heart loved?

"I…" She had to get it out now. "I…I need to find out the truth. It just came to me…I just realized…Hayner remembered Roxas perfectly. He still does."

DiZ took a sudden step back. Now his one eye was wide with astonishment. "I-I forgot all about that! I must have…been too used to the Twilight Town we created. The data…I thought we got rid of it all. I thought we destroyed it."

Naminé shook her head, pulled back a lock of yellow hair behind her ear. "We did. That Twilight Town doesn't exist…or shouldn't. It does now. Hayner and his friends…and everybody who lives in Twilight Town now…they don't know it. They don't realize it."

"My god…" DiZ backed into the wall, covered his face. "Naminé, how…how out of control did things get? How much have we lost controls of the events? Roxas reappearing…it's…everything's being affected…and all the most complicated problems…it's all blown out of proportion. How?"

"Everything is real," Naminé said. "The problem is…how did it merge with the fake one?"

DiZ sighed deeply, looked elsewhere.

"Are you going to tell Roxas?"

Naminé looked down. This was one problem she had, the one thing she had to approach Roxas with. How would he take it? She was pretty sure he didn't forget anything. Studying him from far off, she could see hints of his personality reemerging, coming out whenever something angered him. Or someone…like Axel.

"Yes. We have to, don't we?" She looked at DiZ, found he was still looking elsewhere. "But…I don't want to face…his real personality. His anger. He's going to be very angry, DiZ, when I bring this up. He…he's been forgetting. He's been hiding it all away from her…forgetting everything. If I…reawaken what he's hiding…it won't end well."

"Nothing _will_ end well, Naminé," DiZ breathed heavily. "We have no say in that matter. Nothing will end as we want it to. Our only goals now…are to help Sora stop the Organization, close Kingdom Hearts, and find the Door of Light. As for the situation at hand…I don't know how it'll affect those goals."

Naminé sighed. "DiZ, I'm going to visit a few people. I need to…formulate a plan. Hayner finds it almost impossible to keep those two apart. And I…I have a feeling there's something happening that is making it impossible to keep them apart."

"You're going to visit Sora."

That wasn't a question. It was hardcore fact and the absolute truth, and Naminé knew it. She couldn't avoid meeting with Sora even if she wanted to. He was the focus of it all.

"If he's been having problems lately…and they're connected to the Keyblade and the light within him…then we're going to have to take drastic measures. But…if it's something else…we'll have to keep watching."

"That's what we do best, Naminé. Watch and wait."

DiZ stepped off the wall and turned to the door. Naminé watched him as she slid all loose leaf papers into her drawing pad.

"You're still going to do it. It'll kill you, DiZ."

"No it won't."

"DiZ, I think it's better if you-"

"Naminé, I have to clean up my own mess. I began so many things. I mean to end it well…even at the cost of my life. I will be here when you return, and I hope you do, Naminé. I need to know everything you told me. Now, who are you going to first?"

Naminé sighed as she picked up her drawing pad. She looked at the green sweater lying on the table a foot away, contemplated whether or not to take it with her.

"Roxas," she said softly, and picked it up.

''

It was unfortunate that Pluto couldn't convert everything into words. Though he could relate ideas, he couldn't relay every single word he picked up. If only he had a voice recorder…

Pluto snuck closer and closer, keeping close to the shadows, hiding behind boxes and trash, trying to see what the three tall shadows were discussing. His nose was being overwhelmed with the smell of rotting trash, cardboard, and something completely foreign to him. He couldn't recognized it even if he tried. It was not the scent of a Nobody, a Heartless, a creature, or a human being. He was sure of it.

"…psychology…"

"…the connection is still…doubt it would…"

"…choice in the matter…"

"…memory of…continue with our…"

"…still don't think it will…"

Pluto inched closer.

"It has to work. The laws of psychology dictate it and we've been studying them long enough. It will work. It has to work."

"A drastic change in a relationship will terminate it. If we push it, we will ruin everything. Then _they_ will step in and wipe the slate clean. _Tabula rasa_, asshole. It's not going to work."

"You've just said it. _Tabula rasa_. Depends on what you're trying to do-"

"I don't know-"

"Look, listen to me. _Tabula rasa_ is a clean slate. If we create drastic change in the relationship, they'll be forced to come clean with each other. With everything. Then they can start new, fresh, everything brand new. The bond will be indestructible. Then we step in, clean things up, and continue with the plan. The bond will be there, even if either one of them isn't."

"I think we're pushing it. Playing the lords of the Universe-"

"And ladies, you son of a-"

"Gods and goddesses, then. The almighty rulers of the Universe, to keep it simple. If we continue, we'll only end up screwing ourselves over-"

"I personally don't care if we get fucked over. Remember what you said? As long as we do what he wanted, it won't matter what happens to us. The rebirth will be complete and it'll be all over. No more darkness, no more pain, nothing at all."

"Sounds ideological to me."

"Yeah and you're just negative."

"I hate you, you know that?"

"Yes, and I love you, too. Now let's move it. I need to talk to that kid about the plan-"

"We didn't agree to it, did we?"

"Yeah we did."

"Yeah, don't you remember?"

"I just think…if we mess around with that kid too much…something really bad is gonna happen. I don't like it."

"We have no choice. We have to do it."

"Yeah but-"

"C'mon. We'll talk about that later. Right now we need to keep watch. And did either of you find that damn dog-"

Pluto froze. They were talking about him, Pluto! Since when did the conversation turn to him? Pluto held in a yelp of shock and quietly padded out of the alley. Once he was clear out in the neighboring street, amongst the lights and the few people walking down the sidewalk even after midnight, he took off, his tail sticking straight up in the air. Perhaps by now his friend King Mickey was awake. He had fainted the other day and Pluto was still waiting for him to wake up.

Maybe then he'll tell King Mickey that he can no longer stay in Twilight Town. Those mysterious strangers who aren't working for the Organization were after him.

And they seemed to do pretty well at doing whatever they wanted.

**Author's Endnote:** Whoa, that was short. Oops. Well, I think the next two chapters will be of more interest, especially the chapter after next. Please review. Compliments, questions, whatever. Thanks!


	18. Naminé

**Author's Note: **This is a complete BS chapter like every other chapter and blah, blah, blah. I kept having thoughts of quitting writing fanfiction altogether and even considered the indefinite hiatus of writing. It's a mood swing; ignore it.

**Disclaimer: **All characters, settings, and back story are copyrighted by Square-Enix and Disney. The storyline and original characters are mine.

**xxx**

**A Walk In Andante**

**18 - Naminé**

Roxas gasped, sat straight up in bed as the last echoes of the scream bounced off the walls of the apartment. He looked around, saw nothing to the least dangerous, then touched his head. He was sweating profusely; his clothes stuck to him and the bed was soaking through. He pushed back the bed sheets, cringed at the stink of sweat. Bodily fumes weren't to the least pleasant.

He sighed, then pushed the sheets back even further with his bare feet, then turned and slid off the bed onto his feet. He sighed, tugged at his damp shirt, then quickly and quietly walked to the door. He opened it, went to the living room and straight for the couches. He slowed as he neared, then quietly padded the rest of his way to the three-seat couch. He leaned on its back, then peeked over.

Roxas frowned slightly at the tense look on Kairi's face. She clutched the blanket so tightly it looked painful. That could explain the scream but he knew better. He was there before, when she screamed and woke up sweating up a storm. She was dreaming again.

Roxas sighed deeply, shook his head, then found himself reaching over the couch and, bending his finger, stroked her cheek. She felt warm, radiated heat like the hot pavement during summer. Growing concerned, he opened his hand and pressed the palm of it against her forehead. No fever. She was fine. The nightmare probably stressed her out, whatever it was.

Reluctantly he pulled his hand back, then sighed a third time and ran a hand through his damp hair. He tugged and pushed and pulled at his hair for a few minutes, knew he was making a bird's nest of it, but didn't care. It was night. The belly of the building was dark. Even if Kairi woke up, she wouldn't see it.

She mumbled, then moaned as she twitched. Roxas pulled his hand away, looked at her worriedly while she pulled at the blanket around her small slender body. He pulled the cover over her bare feet, which she uncovered during the restless sleep, then proceeded to tuck the blanket more securely over her.

"Why?" he found himself asking. "Why me? Why you?"

_I'm Sora's shadow, shadow of his being, his light, his love. Why me? Why did it have to be me? And why you? Why did he have to love you? Why do I have to go through this? Is any of this…real?_

On impulse he caressed her cheek again, the silky smoothness and the pulsating heat right underneath her skin. For a moment, it reminded him of the unnamed girl, the smoothness of her neck as he bathed it with kisses, unable to stop himself. And her lips, they were so soft, so velvety, like nothing he's ever experienced before. He swallowed at the memory of the dream; it was fading fast, except for the feeling, the experience.

_Did I…fall in…love with a girl that only exists in my dreams? Is that love? Was that love in my dreams?_

He pulled his hand away again, unable to bear remaining in contact with the teenager a moment more, but stopped when she, in the midst of her dreaming, grabbed his hand and held onto it tightly. He nearly cried out in surprise, caught himself, and looked at Kairi curiously, wonderingly. Why-

He tried to slide his hand out but she tightened her hold until it was painful.

"…Sora…" she whispered.

Roxas felt a chill. It formed in the core of his chest, a horrid cold that spread throughout his body, all the way down to his toes. He shook while he breathed, tried to understand where it came from. He hadn't felt it in weeks-no, this wasn't that aching cold, that terrible emptiness where he was sure there should be everlasting warmth. It was something else, something even more painful. Roxas forced himself not to yank his hand away.

Then Kairi started whispering a hurried series of words that he couldn't catch. Every few seconds, he thought she was whispering Sora's name. The name of Keyblade Master. The one she was supposed to be with.

"…I'm sorry, Sora…so sorry…don't know what to do…"

He couldn't stand it any longer. The pain was building up at a shocking rate. He tried to pull his hand out of hers but she still wouldn't let him go.

"…don't leave me…"

How could he carry on like this? This was torture, madness. Why did it hurt him so much that she mentioned Sora's name? It came to him that maybe he should tell her, relate to her his whole story, then run to the top of the clock tower and throw himself off, just to end the misery. There would be no more confusion, no more pain, nothing to stand in front of the inevitable. The truth that it was Sora she loved. He looked like Sora; it was no wonder Kairi was attracted to him. But attraction paled, was nothing in comparison to love. That's what it was between her and Sora. Love.

_Then this really is a lie. I'm living a lie. I'm leading her on with a lie. Everything's a lie. Lies, all lies. What am I to do, then? I'm just a shadow built with lies and deceit, with a past created by those who intend to hurt others. I'm a walking…nightmare._

_Except those dreams. What do they mean? Do they mean anything at all?_

"I'm here, Kairi," he murmured, his mind reveling in what remained of that dream. "I'm always here."

Instantly her hand relaxed and he was able to pull away.

"…I know…" she whispered in a sigh. Then she fell silent.

Roxas looked at her, felt a smile tug at his lips. Then he turned, intent on going back to his room and sleeping until morning actually came.

"Don't," the slender blonde teenage girl spoke sternly as he jumped back, a yell in his throat. "I can't freeze things so we can talk freely so we'll have to be quiet. I need to speak to you. Now."

Roxas waited until the shock died inside him, then hissed, "What the hell are you _doing_ here, Naminé?"

She raised an eyebrow, appearing slightly amused. "What, is there a problem here? Was I…_interrupting_ something?"

Roxas fumed, knew he couldn't hide the flush covering his pale face. He shifted from foot to foot, realized that she must have been talking to Axel. "_No._ Now, what do you want?"

"I need to know if you remember anything."

"Remember what?"

Naminé sighed, took a step forward. "Don't play dumb with me, Roxas. I know you're not an idiot. Make it easy for the both of us. Do you remember anything from the past?"

"What? Sora!"

"Roxas, calm down. Besides Sora-"

"How can it be anything besides Sora? Of course I remember everything! It's all about Sora, after all. Isn't it, Naminé?"

She swallowed, then pressed forward, "It's not just Sora. It's about you. What are you doing here, Roxas? You merged with Sora long ago, was even _happy_ you could. You had the privilege of becoming complete compared to the rest of the Organization. And suddenly you're here, by yourself, trying to exist like a normal teenager."

"I'm guessing there's an 'except', right?"

He watched her, knew she was struggling with his rather sarcastic tone.

"You're playing with fire here. Kairi is one of Sora's foundations. In fact, she could be his very foundation. He needs her, Roxas. He needs her the way she is. But she's not. You decided to interrupt the two by stepping in between them. Do you have _any_ idea-"

"The first time we met I was trying to save her. Where's the gratitude for that? If I hadn't gotten there in time she would have been taken by the Heartless and then what!"

"Roxas-"

"Look, I don't care. I won't step away from all of this, Naminé."

Naminé didn't show the slightest shift in emotion on her face. She continued watching him steadily, until he became uneasy and had to look elsewhere.

"You were here a few days before you saved her. You were stalking her, weren't you?"

Roxas stared at her, shocked. Then he narrowed his eyes and snapped, "I wasn't stalking her!"

"Then what?"

"I…" He stopped, suddenly realized he had no idea. "I…saw her, walking down the street. I thought…I thought she looked familiar. Then I…remembered why I found her familiar. Sora. She was connected to Sora. I could feel it in me…and I felt connected to her, too."

"Roxas, you merged with Sora. You're his other half, the one that actually rarely shows. You know what I mean, don't you?"

It took all of Roxas's will not to hiss something other than, "Yes."

"You're still a shadow of Sora, Roxas. What you were feeling was Sora's love towards Kairi. You're a shadow of it…in a sense, a go-between."

Roxas shook his head. "It's more complicated than that."

"And how would you know?"

"Why wouldn't I know?"

"Because I think Sora's love is blinding you, blinding you so well you can't tell what you're doing. You don't know what you're doing, do you? Have you ever wondered about that?"

Roxas stared at her, considered what she just said. And then he remembered his conversations-arguments with Axel. And something heated starting coursing in him.

"Did you send Axel to make me question myself?"

"What are you-"

"He's been asking me if I know what the hell I'm doing. Did you set me up for this? Trying to keep everything together? I know what you're trying to do. You're trying to erase me from Kairi's memories, aren't you?"

Naminé watched him but her light blue eyes grew dark.

"King Mickey came by. He wanted to know what was going on. It seems he's gotten wind of what's happening here."

Roxas snorted. "Explains why his dog's in town."

Naminé raised her eyebrow again. "He's gotten wind of what you're doing. Whatever you're doing, Roxas, is affecting Sora, too. He's been getting disturbed, so disturbed he's not focusing as he should. He's…panicking over Kairi. He wanted to come here himself. What do you think about that?"

Roxas stared. If anything, what she said meant the two were still somewhat connected. If they were right about how Sora's love for Kairi is basically what's pushing him, then Kairi's reaction to this is affecting Sora, too. Wait, that means-

"But why won't Kairi do anything? It's been long enough. She's told me nothing about Sora. Nothing whatsoever."

"We know."

"We?"

"Axel. DiZ. All three of us know. You haven't told her the truth and she hasn't told you anything either."

"You three have been on this? All three of you!"

"Roxas-"

"Why don't you just keep your damn eyes and ears focused elsewhere for once? You know, back then, when the three of you were really messing with me, I hated you. All three of you. Not so much you, Naminé, since you actually _helped_ me deal with all this. But Axel and DiZ, they were really messing with me. I thought I was going crazy. But this! When will you stop messing around with me, Naminé? When!"

The heat was intensifying. Roxas pressed his hand against his chest, tried to calm himself down. Slowly, slowly, something was beginning to gnaw him from the inside, something empty and painful.

"I wanted to be normal for once. Being inside Sora, I found out what it was like…to be normal. To have a heart and be…content. I know I can never get a heart…but I wanted to be normal. _Normal_!"

"And _that_ is how you got here?"

"No."

"Then what-"

"I. Don't. Know! Goddamn it, I don't know how I got here so will you stop asking me about it?"

"We need to know, Roxas. We need to know everything. Something's at work here, Roxas. Something outside of our control. You know we aren't the ones who brought you here-"

"Do I seem stupid to you?"

"Listen to me!" Naminé snapped. Her eyes were storming over. "Just listen to me! You think you're the only one going through all this-this-this shit? Well, surprise Roxas! So am I!"

Roxas stared at her. It was one thing for him to be angry but Naminé? No way.

"You were…going to say something else…"

"I was born with the merest of existences. A body. In a sense, I'm a machine. I'm only lucky I came with some sort of soul. Without a soul, no one can live. Kairi's heart has no shadow. Therefore, I don't have the faintest traces of a heart. I do, however, have traces of her in every other aspect. I don't know to what extent but…I'm going through a lot that you're going through, Roxas. I've been…thinking about…Sora. A lot."

"Well you were the one messing with him-"

"I know that! Stop shoving that in my face! I'm guilty enough as is. Don't push it, Roxas. I'm feeling for Sora, the same way you're feeling for Kairi. And while it's all fine with you given your circumstances, it's not for _me_!"

"Well why the hell are you telling me this? I didn't do anything!"

"I hope not!"

Naminé suddenly looked somewhere else, suddenly stopped venting. She was heaving, her face flush with anger.

"Roxas."

"What!"

"Someone's behind this."

"Yeah, so what?"

"Someone's toying with us."

"Your point is?"

Naminé looked at Roxas sharply. "Someone's screwing us over. All our plans are gone haywire. Someone out there's planning something."

"Who's this 'someone', Naminé?"

"Hell if I know!" Naminé shouted in frustration. She seemed to have forgotten what she said earlier about being quiet. Roxas took a step back abruptly. He couldn't imagine a kind, sweet teenage girl furiously shouting about something.

And then he realized what she was talking about.

"People are coming up to me, telling me someone's been asking about me. Are you talking about that someone?"

"Yes. We think this person's behind all this. We just don't know how."

"But that person has to be that powerful to mess around with us like that so well-"

"Exactly!"

"Have you done anything about it?"

Naminé suddenly looked thoughtful. She shifted slightly, seemed to be contemplating something. Then she sighed.

"No."

"What! What the hell do you think you're doing, then! What the hell are you people doing? You think this someone's behind all this so why don't you go figure that out and make yourself happy with the answers? You'll leave us alone for once."

"We don't know anything about this someone. We have to wait and watch-"

"Then why are you bothering me? Why are you bothering her? You people are making no sense whatsoever! Don't you think you guys are the ones screwing up-"

"That's not it!" Naminé shouted, striding forward and grabbing Roxas by the collar. She yanked him close. "That is _not_ it! You don't get it, do you? We've been thrown off-track! Uncharted waters, Roxas! We don't know what to do and we're trying to figure it out! We don't know whether to focus on Sora's problem, you two, or that someone who started all of this! We are scrambling, damn it, to get everything right!"

"You think you're running out of time-"

"Of course we are! The longer we delay this, the worse it'll be for all of us later."

"You realize that if you keep to this train of thought, we won't have anything to worry about?"

Naminé stared at him. "What are you talking about?"

"Merging, Naminé. There's something about merging. You have a tendency to care less about things. You realize that?"

"Maybe that's just you, Roxas, but I do care and I will always care what the hell happens to me, to Kairi, to the whole Universe!"

Roxas tried to pull away but Naminé kept a tight hold on the collar of his shirt. She pulled him even closer and it suddenly hit Roxas that Naminé did look a lot like Kairi. Something twisted in him as that thought went through his mind.

"You…" he found himself whispering. "You…you look like her."

Naminé stared, then suddenly let go. She backed away quickly and looked away. Roxas tugged at his shirt collar, felt the heat rise in his face. He heard her take several deep breaths.

"We…we're screwing up, Roxas. Nobodies…we…this shouldn't be happening to us. This shouldn't be happening to us at all!"

Roxas quickly backed away as she covered her face with her hands.

"DiZ…he was right…King Mickey…oh my god…Roxas, what are we doing wrong? What are we doing!"

He backed away even faster, then collided with the couch behind him.

"…Roxas?"

He turned around immediately and leaned over. "Did I wake you?"

Kairi blinked slowly, rubbed her left eye. Then she pulled the blanket more tightly around her, bared her feet again.

"No, not really…"

"But you're awake."

"Shut up…trying to sleep here…"

He smiled. "Okay. They're going to be here early so-"

"Roxas?"

"Yeah?"

"Good night," she said firmly and turned her back to him.

Roxas sighed, turned around, knew Naminé wouldn't be there. Of course she wouldn't be. Why would she be hanging around there any longer?

"I'm sorry, Naminé. I know we're screwing up…but I won't stop it. I'm not going to stop this at all. I'm sorry…"

**xxx**

**Author's Endnote: **So I suppose I hafta sit around and wait for your reviews, angry or happy or sad or delirious or threatening or whatever manner of reviews you have a tendency to write to authors.

I suppose I should go update my other story…

Thanks for reading, though.

**How now brown cow?**


	19. Sora

**Author's Note:**And I'm going to have another update this Friday, because next week I'm off to Canada following a retarded Korean tour. At least it's cooler there, I think. And I know some people who live there! Not personally, though…

**Disclaimer: **The characters, settings, and back story are copyrighted by Square-Enix and Disney. The storyline and original characters are mine. Guess what this chapter's about.

I dare you.

**XXX**

**A Walk In Andante**

**19 - Sora**

"KAIRI!"

The gummi ship swerved as the scream echoed through its hulls. Donald cursed and righted the ship again.

"Goofy, go check on him."

"Uh-huyuk, gotcha!"

The knight leaped out of his seat, immediately fell over his long loafers, picked himself up, then bounded over to the back of the gummi ship, to where the bunk beds were. Sora had been steering the gummi ship for the past few hours and it was Donald's turn. Goofy just woke up because he wanted to.

Sora sat the edge of his bunk bed. The tall tanned teenager was sweating profusely, beads of the salty liquid sliding down his face and dripping off his chin. His damp hair hung low, the spikes weighed with the sweat. He wiped at his face, tried to catch his breath.

"Uh…Sora? You alright?"

He shook his head, then shook it harder, spraying sweat everywhere. Goofy jerked back.

"N-no…"

Goofy looked at him, narrowed his eyes.

"I…it was that dream again."

Shooting stars?

He nodded. "Yeah, I think there were shooting stars. And it was night. Then twilight. I could tell. The sun was setting. It was so red…and…Kairi came to me."

Not like before?

"I never saw her. I was always looking for her. I thought I'd see her…across the sea…I don't know. I don't know why I didn't turn around and look behind me. I kept my eyes forward, until I heard her. She called me. Why didn't she call me before, Goofy?"

"Der…is this a dream?"

"Is it?" Sora sighed, rubbed his eyes, then visibly flushed. His face darkened considerably into a deep red color. "I-I kissed her, in my dream. The one I just had. I finally kissed her. She…I don't know. The way she…the way she responded…I didn't expect it. Maybe I'm just imagining things but-but…something felt wrong."

"Like what?" Goofy asked curiously as he sat on his bunk bed across from Sora's.

"Like…like I was losing her. We…we were walking across water, Goofy, into the sunset, into light. Everything felt so right, her hand in mine, my hand in hers. It was like…this was what we dreamed of, going together, into the light we were all looking for, then a voice came calling from behind us. I-I don't know what it said, but Kairi did. She turned around and let me go. The next thing I knew, she was falling, falling straight down. I tried to grab her hand but it was too late."

He turned away, wiped at his eyes.

"She was gone. I lost her."

"You…ah…think we should go back ter Twilight Town?" Goofy asked worriedly.

Sora shook his head at this, though. "We have something to do. Besides…Pluto and King Mickey went there to watch for her. They know what I want. I trust them. But…I wish I could see her again."

"After all this is over…and we find Riku…it _will_ be over, right?" Goofy said.

Sora nodded. "And the Door of Light. Kingdom Hearts. Those two doors. Find them, lock one, open another. Then it'll be over."

Goofy jumped off his bed, fell on his face, jumped back up, and walked to the door.

"It'll be all over…and we can go home," Sora said behind him. Goofy turned and gave him a thumbs up.

"Huyuk, yeah!"

Sora grinned as Goofy disappeared from view.

"Sora?"

The grin froze on his face. A chill raced up his spine. Someone's voice. A girl's voice.

"K-Kairi?" he found himself asking, whispering, hoping. _This can't be real. This must be a dream._

"No…I'm not Kairi. Don't you…remember me?"

Sora turned around slowly, saw her standing in a corner of the room.

"Who-who are you?"

She smiled sadly. He realized she looked like Kairi.

"'Thank Naminé', Sora. My name is Naminé."

**XXX**

**Author's Endnote: **Love? Hate? Wtf? Please post your comments, opinions, possible flames and compliments, all manners of death threats, etc.

Thanks.


	20. Dreamspeak

**Author's Note:** Here's the next chapter. I had to rewrite the whole damn thing because it wasn't…good enough for you people. Enjoy.

**Disclaimer:** The characters, settings, and back story are copyrighted by Square-Enix and Disney. The storyline and original characters are mine.

**X X X**

**A Walk In Andante**

**20 - Dreamspeak**

Kairi sighed, watched wearily as Olette stared critically at a pair of khaki shorts before shoving it back into the rack with the sibling shorts, all in different sizes but with the same design and the same color. This had been going on for hours and Kairi was getting tired. She just wasn't cut out to be a shopper like Olette was.

"Olette, how long does it take to find just _one_ pair of shorts-"

"Kairi, you have to understand the dynamics of shopping," Olette interrupted as she snatched out a pair of army green. "It took me a whole day finding this orange and yellow combination. Trying to go for the classic right now…and I don't know why I'm looking at this."

She hung it back on the rack and started sorting through some screen tees.

"I don't see what's the big deal with shopping, actually…"

"Who bought you that dress?" Olette asked as she held up a pale yellow tee with silver letters: Lovable Banana.

Kairi looked down at the pink dress she was wearing, with the black belt and the white undershirt. She patted the black pouch on her left hip.

"Selphie. Selphie picked it out. Remember the friend I mentioned, the one back at Destiny…Destiny Islands?"

She swallowed suddenly, her memories of sunny summer days coming back to her in a rush like the ocean waves. Kairi shook her head, tried to get them out of her head, the laughter of children, the crashing waves, and the screaming seagulls. Then suddenly all was gone. The moon was low in the sky, radiating and bathing Destiny Islands in white moonlight. The sea rippled, too quiet to notice. And there was the stranger, the one who woke the passion inside her, the mysterious stranger. She took a shaky step to the side as the memories of the nightmare two nights ago stormed through her, the painful separation, the joyful reunion, the walk on the water, the fall into the depths of the sea…

"_I love you."_

The voice, the stranger's voice, kept repeating those three words. It hurt her. The words were soft, barely discernable, wistful, but they were there, from his mouth to her ear, to her heart. And when they wrapped around her heart, every time she thought about him, they tightened the hold on her heart a little more, and it pained her. It hurt her. Suddenly the blood drained from her head and she felt strangely lightheaded. She staggered against a wooden table covered in tees while the world rocked under her feet.

_No…not again…not-_

"Kairi? Kairi, are you alright?" Someone was touching her shoulder and she instinctively recoiled from the touch. It wasn't his hand-wait, what was she thinking? Kairi shook her head, rubbed at her temple.

"Sorry…" she mumbled, feeling a bit embarrassed. "I was just…thinking, I guess."

Thinking, she was thinking of course. Thinking about what?

Olette asked that question, too.

No, Kairi wasn't really thinking about 'what'. She was thinking about 'who'.

"A dream."

Olette put down the cream shirt with the gold floral design on the collar. "That again?"

Kairi shook her head, brushed back her crimson bangs. "No, not that one. Another one…well, I guess it is the same dream. The same place, the same…person…_him_, he was there, too."

"The stranger? The one you don't know? The…um…figment of your mind?"

Figment? A part of her mind, her imagination? Her mind created the stranger? She asked.

"We make our dreams," Olette said simply. "We make dreams and nightmares and everything in between. I know it's hard to believe that we can make those kinds of people and put them in our dreams, you know. I suppose it's because we're rather free to do what we want when we're sleeping. That includes dreaming. You can do whatever you want. But I read somewhere that sometimes our desires tell us what to dream. Are you in love, Kairi?"

"Love? That depends…it's just…for some reason, I wish he was real. You know, a real person, not just someone I meet when I sleep."

"Kairi?"

"Yeah?"

"What about Sora? He's in your dream, too. He's not the stranger but himself in your dream. What about him?"

Her heart sank. Kairi felt the desire to sink through the floor of the store. She ran a frustrated hand through her hair, tugged at the ends.

"I-I don't know. I can't fall in love with my imagination, can I? That's-that's ridiculous. Stupid and ridiculous. But…if you say desire tells us what to dream…I kissed Sora. I kissed him…in my dream."

She blushed as she said this, remembered his lips against hers, and looked at Olette smiling at her.

"If that's your desire, you'll have to make it real when he comes back to pick you up, huh?" the brunette teased as she picked up a cream sleeveless. "You think this would go good with that pale yellow scarf?"

Kairi cocked her head to the side, tried to imagine Olette with the top and the scarf. Nothing came to mind. She supposed she didn't have quite the imagination a shopper like Olette had. Or maybe she was just too preoccupied with her bizarre dreams.

And someone else. Yes, she could feel his presence in her mind, hovering as a shadow in her thoughts, merging and distancing from the stranger of her dreams.

"…but…why am I falling in love with someone in my dreams, Olette? That…that just doesn't make sense," she whispered sadly. "Why, Olette, why? I mean…I have Sora…shouldn't I be happy? If I have Sora, why don't I dream of him that often? I…I don't remember dreaming him at all for the past few weeks. I…I don't get it. And in my dreams…I went to the stranger, not him, not Sora. I-I don't understand."

"How do you feel with the stranger?"

"He's a stranger, Olette. What do you expect me to feel?"

Olette shrugged. "Sometimes…when two souls touch…it's a totally different story."

Kairi blinked. "Soul? But-but he's just a person in a dream! And since when were you a romantic?"

"Forever."

"You should meet Selphie. You two would be best friends."

"As soon as I find some shorts."

Kairi laughed a bit as she followed Olette to another part of the store. There were some vests and now Olette was fingering them. "Of course."

Olette had pulled out a creamy rose-colored vest and was studying the belt sewed onto it. "It would be…interesting…if he was real, though. Don't you think?"

"I wish he was," Kairi admitted albeit reluctantly. "But…if he was real…what am I supposed to do? He said he loved me, Olette, and if it was real and not a dream, then I'm in trouble. What about Sora?"

"What about Sora indeed," Olette agreed as she apparently decided to try the vest in the dressing room, too.

"The thing about dreams…I think you're right. Maybe dreams tell us what we want, what we feel, what we think…when we don't say things ourselves…but if that's true, then why him? Why the stranger? Why not Sora? I made a promise. We made a promise. We're connected. Our hearts are intertwined, together, linked… How come that's failing?"

"Maybe," and when Olette looked at her, there was a sly smile on her face, "the dreams are telling you to do something about your suppressed desires for a certain someone…"

Kairi flushed hard. It didn't take an idiot to know where Olette was taking the conversation.

"It's-it's not him!" she stammered, while the shadow in her mind took up a shape, a form, colors, a voice, thought, and an identity, a name. "It's not him! No, it's not! It's…"

She sighed, rubbed her face and looked away. Her eyes fixed on a nearby mirror, and a young woman who presently walked away from it, clutching a viridian green dress in her hands. Now her view of herself was unblocked and Kairi stared at the deep red blush on her face. She rubbed at her cheek but obviously, that wouldn't make it go away.

Plain as day. This was bad.

She had seen herself in the mirror before, and looked just like that, but it was in a more embarrassing, sticky situation. That was back at Roxas's house, in the morning before Olette and Pence came 'round to pick her up and chaperone her off for another fun-filled day in Twilight Town. She had walked into the bathroom half-asleep and thinking no one was in there, and found Roxas running a hand through his damp blond hair and peering at a steamed-over mirror. Naked except for the shorts he had on. Shirtless. Again. Why did Kairi do this to herself? She had felt herself go red, even saw herself in the mirror, while Roxas looked at her, startled at her sudden intrusion into a place of obvious privacy.

She had muttered a quick blubbering apology and hid herself in a corner of the couch, too shy to look at him as he went to his room and closed the door. And when she was in the bathroom, she couldn't stop thinking about him. He had done the magnificent job of drowning out her worried thoughts about her dream, but that didn't help her at all. She was shaking, her heart beating furiously, all the way until Olette and Pence finally came.

She wondered what Roxas thought of the whole situation.

"Kairi?"

She jumped and away, quickly whirled around to see it was Olette. She looked very worried.

"Maybe we should leave. I don't think staying here's going to do any good for you-"

"No, no, no, just…go ahead. Keep shopping…I just…I just have to…figure things out a bit…" Kairi muttered, now feeling a bit shameful. She hated drawing attention to herself that way.

"You really like him, don't you?"

Maybe they should leave, and find something to do that'll definitely distract Olette.

"I…" Defeat. It tasted so bitter and yet…it didn't feel at all like one. "Yes…I suppose so."

"Suppose so? What a poor way of expressing yourself. Just let it out, Kairi. You like him. You like him and you don't know what to do about it, right?"

"I…" Olette had hit the bull's eye, again. "Yeah, I don't. I don't know what to do."

"Well, if you just tell him-"

"No! I can't do that! No, I'm just going to stay quiet, I'm just going to let it all blow over, hopefully. I-I'll wait, until Sora comes back. Then…then it'll be all over. It has to. I-I can't like him, Olette. I already told you that."

"I know Kairi," the brunette retorted, now suddenly sounding a little angry. "I know and I'm sick and tired of it. Sick and tired of listening to you give excuse after excuse about why this and why that. Look, just tell him. It'll take a load off your shoulders and you'll feel loads better about it after you've said it. Probably he'll be feeling better, too-"

"What?"

She sounded stupid right there.

"Kairi, are you…no offense…are you just dumb?" Olette asked. "Haven't you noticed? Haven't you heard me say this before? He likes you. I don't know how much but he likes you. He. Likes. You."

"When Sora comes back-"

"Forget about Sora, Kairi! Think about Roxas. What do you think he's thinking? What do you think he feels? You have to clear it up with him, not hold it inside."

"I-I can't," Kairi said, despair rising. She knew she could never tell him that. Never. "You-you don't understand. I can't, Olette. I _can't_."

Olette stared at her, her green eyes boring deep. Kairi swallowed, looked away, felt a pounding in her ears.

"Do you love him?"

Kairi turned, stared at Olette. Love? Love? No, not love. That was for strangers in dreams and Sora. Not Roxas. No, never Roxas. It can't…it'll ruin everything, bring the whole world down on her. He's already breaking the foundations. She knew…and she wanted him to. He's breaking each one of them and building a new one with his hands.

But there's one foundation he can't touch, he mustn't lay hands on. The foundation of her love for Sora. It was already shaky but she can't have it break, too.

She knew what would happen if she told Roxas everything. That was impossible.

"I can't, Olette…" she murmured, not at all answering Olette's probing question. "No…I can't…I can't tell him…anything. He can't know. He can never know. Please understand, Olette. Please…"

_Please understand, Olette. You don't know how hard this is for me, how confusing. I'm so confused! I'm lost, I don't know what to do, what to think, what to feel, what to say. It's so hard…I don't want to let either of them go…but I already am. I'm losing someone…_

**X X X**

**Author's Endnote:** Well…I suppose this bit was a little longer. I expected it to be much longer but I seemed to have forgotten a really awesome chapter squeezed in between two connected sections. Too bad you'll have to wait two weeks for that chapter. Review, please. Anything. Thanks!


	21. Heroic Spy

**Author's Note:** Two weeks. Thanks for the patience. Look out for language, thanks.

**Disclaimer:** The characters, settings, and back story are copyrighted by Square-Enix and Disney. The storyline and original characters are mine, particularly in this chapter.

**X X X**

**A Walk In Andante**

**21 – Heroic Spy**

Sakusen was the ordinary fifteen-year-old teenager with issues against his parents and deep loyal ties with his two best friends, Kitsuna and Reino. He called himself a punk-Goth, although he didn't go as far as wear only black. His clothes were all dark. They were either deep dark blue or flat out black. He loved high turtlenecks; they shielded his face from wandering eyes.

See, he had the looks. And he wanted to hide them. He wasn't the kind of guy to pull attention onto himself.

"…in a few weeks so I'd say we practice bashing each other a bit," Kitsuna was saying as the three of them walked down a Twilight Town street. Kitsuna was a pretty skinny girl and she always tied her silver hair back in a ponytail. Once in a while, she'd huff and blow her bangs out of her face. She, too, was of the gothic sort and loved studs; her jacket, her belt, and her tight dark jeans all were adorned with silver studs.

She was pretty, Sakusen admitted that. But she wasn't just a pretty face. She knew how to beat ass.

"I'll take all of ya down! In one minute. Watch!" Reino crowed. The tallest amongst them, he was a big-boned teenager with flaming red hair that he fashioned into spikes with what he said was school glue stolen from school. He wore earrings and a red and black sweater with a collar. He also had studs on his dark blue jeans. This guy was a pure punker kid. Sakusen loved his trains of thought and 'no holds back' attitude.

In short, all three of them were punks. What made them love being punks even more were the looks older people were giving them. Sakusen loved making his parents mad with his appearance and attitude.

"Oh puh-leeze," Kitsuna scoffed. "That's a load of air you're walking on. I'll kick your ass in no time at all."

"What are you talking about? Last time you couldn't get a hit on me!"

"That's because Sakusen practically broke every bone in my body! I was so sore I was blue and black all over!"

"Well that I can testify for. Ya poor babe."

"Oh no, don't you-get off of me, you great lump!" Kitsuna yelped while Reino enveloped her in a bear hug. "I said no public display of affection, you damn bear! Off!"

"Methinks she likes it," Reino whispered to Sakusen loudly and with a wink. He laughed, while Kitsuna started trying to get her foot wedged into Reino's crotch, to be blunt.

"Either that or you're willing to lose your boys," Sakusen informed him. "Watch out."

Reino jumped back and let Kitsuna go. She stood up straight and dusted at her clothes.

"Next time, I _will_ hurt your balls."

"You said that last time, remember?" Reino teased. Kitsuna sighed, rolled her violet eyes, and looked to Sakusen for help. He shrugged.

"Don't look at me."

"I _am_ looking at you."

"Well, whichever way that goes, I can't help you."

"Did I ask?"

"You were going to, right?"

"…I hate you."

"And I love you both, yes, I heard that enough times," Sakusen replied automatically. "Now, c'mon. Maybe the sandlot's free for once."

"For once," Reino snorted. "I swear, those two are like trysting there."

"That's only you, you poor deprived little boy-"

"Hey! I, for one, _do_ have the charms! You just never see them at work," Reino retorted.

"Reino, if you had charms all the girls in Twilight Town would be following you right now," Kitsuna snorted. "Now, about those two-"

"Well…I did see the redhead tag along with the brunette somewhere else. Maybe the sandlot is vacant for once," Sakusen interrupted hopefully.

"Yes, maybe," Kitsuna muttered. Then she turned her head slightly and said, "Well, what's Seifer up to?"

"Where?" Reino demanded loudly. Sakusen shushed him. He had seen the scar-faced teenager, too.

Up ahead, Seifer seemed caught in an intensely heated conversation with a man dressed wholly in black. Well, the man looked like he was dressed in black; Sakusen noticed that whenever the man moved, even very slightly, the coat he was wearing fuzzed around the edges. If the man kept moving, it would have been hard to define his outline and, ultimately, his movements.

"I've seen him around before," Reino spoke in hushed tones. "He's never where people are. Whenever there's a mass of them, he'd be at the outskirts. Then he'd just…disappear. _Poof!_ Into thin air. I swear, this guy's a weirdo."

Kitsuna nodded.

"Hey, I'm gonna check it out. Wait back here, okay?" Sakusen suddenly blurted. He had an abrupt desire, a need to know what Seifer was involved in.

"Oh sure, run off and play heroic spy, why don't you," Kitsuna began sarcastically.

"Hey, no more from you," Sakusen retorted rather cheerfully. He then turned and began walking quickly but casually in the direction of Seifer and the man.

"…keep watching. When the time is right, I will alert you and you will strike."

"I won't keep watching if I don't know what's in it for me!"

"I told you already, fool. You do as told and you'll get out of it with your life."

"You said it's not guaranteed."

"Nothing is guaranteed, Seifer. You have to make it guarantee. I'm just here to help you along. Both of us want to stop the holocaust, am I right?"

"I still want to know how you knew about this 'holocaust' of yours-"

"That is my area. Your area is to keep an eye on the key players and make sure things go as planned. We know these two have huge parts to play in this. Just how huge it is is up to you. Find out, Seifer. Don't screw this over."

"Don't tell me what to do," Seifer snapped when it was apparent the man had ended the conversation.

In the blink of an eye, the man grabbed Seifer by the throat and thrust him against the rosy red bricks of the building nearest to him. While Seifer choked and clawed at the hand that was crushing his larynx, the man brought his hooded face close and hissed, "Don't question my damn authority, you son of a bitch! You will do as I say and you will get out of this alive. You know too much already and if you try to back out now…you'll regret it. Understand?"

A bubbling noise deep in Seifer's throat seemed to serve as answer enough. The man loosened his hand, then pulled back as Seifer slumped to the floor, gasping and choking for air. He held his throat, rubbed it, tried to catch his breath while glaring at the other man.

"You seem to understand enough," the man's voice smirked. Then he turned and walked across the street. Sakusen, his ears ringing with the horrid words, his eyes replaying Seifer's brush with death, watched as the cloaked man looked both ways and across at Seifer before entering an alley. Sakusen inched ahead towards where the little dark passage was but he had a feeling that mysterious man wasn't going to be there.

Actually he hoped the man wasn't there. If he caught the man doing something he doubt anybody should do, Sakusen was in big trouble. That man had just owned Seifer.

Sakusen didn't want to bother having his larynx nearly crushed, and so he turned around and began walking back to Kitsuna and Reino, who were both no doubt waiting for him to relay to them everything he's heard.

But a holocaust? What holocaust?

**X X X**

**Author's Endnote:** Sorry but this chapter deals rather strictly with the storyline, not some "la-la land of teenagers in shit". Reviews, anything. Thanks.


	22. Heart's Cry

**Author's Note:** I rewrote the whole chapter. Appreciate it. The last chapter was mainly focused on the actual storyline but all of you wanted some 'action'. You won't get it but you'll get something like it.

**Disclaimer:** The characters, settings, and back story are copyrighted by Square-Enix and Disney. The storyline and original characters are mine, particularly in this chapter. Pence's acting like an idiot is also my fault. Chapter title is contributed by a very, very nice Japanese racehorse who obviously doesn't know I exist and stole his name. Enjoy.

**X X X**

**A Walk In Andante**

**22 – Heart's Cry**

"Hey…"

Kairi caught herself shuddering, shivering as she felt something smooth and warm slide over her shoulder. A tingling feeling spread from the spot, all the way down to her toes and the top of her head. She had a feeling that was her most sensitive spot. Touch her shoulder and it was like touching off a lit explosive.

"…yeah?"

She turned her head slightly, saw a hand on her bare shoulder. In the dim sunlight, the black ring seemed to twinkle. Strange. It was…winking at her.

Or she could be hallucinating. Maybe she was going crazy.

_Maybe I am crazy._

"…nothing…"

She cocked her head to the side thoughtfully. It sounded like he was having trouble wording something.

"What is it?" she asked softly.

He moved his hand halfway down her upper arm, then back up to her shoulder again. She shivered again and closed her eyes. A second later she opened them again, realized something.

_The stranger in my dreams…he does the exact same thing…like he knows I love it…love it when he touches my shoulder like that. How…how does Roxas know? This has to be an accident, a coincidence. No, no, I'm just adding things up. They're not related, not related-_

"What's bothering you?" Roxas breathed into her ear.

She was getting nervous, panicking. He was close, so close, so very close. She swallowed, tried not to let the panic overtake her. She knew that if she did, she might very well bolt.

"I…nothing."

"Something obviously is. You're getting nervous."

He knew. He knew immediately. How…? The stranger in his dreams…he knew every thing that was on her mind, in her thoughts, storming in her heart. She didn't know how much Roxas knew, how well he could read her, but…it was…freakish.

"I…I'm not nervous," Kairi muttered. Her heart was pounding in her ear.

"You want to talk about it?"

Talk about what? About how she was feeling right now? About what he was making her feel?

_I can't say anything. No, I can't, I can't. If I do…I can't. I'm…I'm scared…I'm so scared. I don't want to lose it…and I already think I am._

Kairi opened her mouth but Roxas was surprisingly much quicker. "It's okay. I don't have to know. Just…relax, Kairi. You have to relax."

_He's reading my mind!_

Suddenly the tension inside her dropped, the bundle of energy collapsing and melting back into her. Her eyes widened as she felt Roxas press his thumb into the back of her shoulder and rotate it against her skin. She sighed, closed her eyes, as the tension continued to unravel and disappear; it felt like she hadn't been at peace for a very long time. The stress was fading.

Vaguely she felt him apply pressure to the other shoulder. She felt rather…airy, for lack of better terms. She felt no tension, no stress, no frustration, no care, really. She was floating away in a comfortable little void…

"Better?"

She had needed it. That was what she was missing…perhaps. A way to relieve the pressure. Simply swinging around a blue bat wasn't enough for her now. Every day passing by in Twilight Town was enhancing the incredible pressure on her. The pressure to tell Roxas about Sora.

The pressure to admit that she liked him.

He pulled away, left her wondering, hanging. Kairi opened her eyes slowly, noted the haziness in the buildings around the Struggle arena. Strange that the buildings seemed to be moving a bit. She rubbed her eyes, then shook her head slightly, trying to clear her head.

It wasn't working.

_What am I supposed to do, Roxas? I already told Olette I can't tell you anything, no matter how much it hurts me deep inside. I…maybe it's just that I don't want to ruin the moments, the days, the times I spend with you. I still don't know a lot about you…it's troubling me a lot…but…being with you makes me happy. You make me happy, and we're both so troubled. We're the most troubled people in the world._

She tried to push away the heavy thoughts but the feeling remained, the feeling of being lost, confused, crushed, helpless. She felt so helpless in the face of the inevitable.

_I'm going to face Sora about this. He's going to find out…and then what?_

"Kairi?"

She shook her head and regretted it a second later. The world swayed again and she nearly fell.

"Kairi!"

He grabbed her, wrapped his arms around her, holding her close, keeping her on her feet. He held her close and she closed her eyes, felt his breath brush against her ear.

_I wish I forgot. Then I wouldn't have to think about this. I wouldn't have to face Sora, face Riku, face home, face the Keyblades, face Traverse Town, face Hollow Bastion, face my friends, Twilight Town, Hayner, Olette, Pence, you. I wish I didn't have to face you. Why did I have to meet you? Why you? Why did it have to be you?_

She wanted to scream but she wanted to cry. She sagged against his arms, tried to breathe, but found herself choking up with unshed tears. Pain. She felt pain everywhere. It wasn't physical but it hurt more than anything she ever felt. It pounded at the very core of her being, shredding her into bits and pieces. She feared she'll never be able to find all the shards to piece herself back together.

"…Kairi…" he whispered into her ear.

She had opened her eyes but they were welling up with wetness and she closed them tightly. Hearing his voice hurt her.

_Am I…am I in love with you? Do I love you? Is that why I feel so much pain, so much hurt? Is that why I'm so scared to talk to you about Sora? Is that why…all my thoughts are on you?_

She turned around abruptly and pressed against his body, burying her face in his chest. The tears wouldn't fall but she was still crying deep inside. She wanted to sink into his warmth, into his presence, forget everything, and just…be with him. She wished she could shed all her baggage and just be by his side.

"Why?" she mumbled into his shirt. "Why? Why? Why, Roxas…why?"

He pulled her closer into him, pressed the side of his face against hers. She choked up, couldn't say anymore.

"I…I don't know what you're hiding from me but…I'm sorry. I'm so sorry."

_He knows I'm hiding from him. He's hiding from me, too. We're hiding from each other? Why?_

"D-don't be…" she whispered. "It's my fault. I can't talk to you. I can't talk about it with you. I-I can't."

_I can't let you know about Sora…because…because if I tell you, I have to tell you everything…and I…I just can't do that. I'm so sorry but you can't understand what it'll do to me. I'm sorry…_

''

The waiter threw at Olette a very dirty look but she kept right on tapping at the glass top of the café table. She could feel the burning and returned the look with an even worse glare. The young waiter had to look away and she smiled triumphantly. But soon the smile vanished and she went back to brooding and tapping at the tabletop with her finger.

She hadn't any munny to buy something to drink. She would have grabbed some if she had decided that the café was the best place to go but as she was in such a hurry to get out of her house she hadn't the time to think and decide what to do. All she knew was that she had to get out before something worse happened.

_Why me? What did I do wrong? Is it my fault my parents are fighting so much…or what? What do I do?_

Olette hadn't felt so helpless in a long time. It was like outside forces were pulling at her, forcing her one way or another. It made her wonder if Kairi was feeling the same way, too. It wasn't outside forces playing on the redhead, though. The poor teenager was dealing with inner demons that were trying to force her to make a choice.

"…are all women like this?" Olette wondered. "Are all women worried about their relationships to other people? Family? Friends? Lovers? Why us?"

She sighed, tugged at a long wavy lock of brown hair. "If only I had more munny…"

She had only enough to call Hayner with a payphone, asking him to meet her at the café in the shopping district. She wanted to talk to him about her parents fighting so much nowadays…and Roxas. She wanted to ask him about Roxas. She knew Kairi really liked the blond teenager, but Olette had a nagging feeling that Kairi was in full denial mode, which obviously explained her insistence that she wasn't falling in love with Olette's good blond friend.

Olette wondered if Roxas was going through the same situation, too.

_He's been emotionless for so long…I didn't think he'd be capable of feeling in this way. But the way he's been…why was I so blind? Why didn't I realize this sooner? Why?_

But of course Olette knew why. She just hadn't told anybody yet.

The problems in the household began long before Kairi suddenly materialized before her, Hayner, and Pence. Olette buried it away while trying to behave as normally as possible but it resurfaced in smaller sneakier ways. It distracted her just enough to blind her to the relationship between Kairi and Roxas and the possible fallout in the politics of teenage relationships.

_Sora and Kairi were so happy when they finally met. It was the most beautiful thing. I felt happy, too. I guess everybody did at the time. Waiting for him to come home the hero, with their friend Riku in tow, must've been something Kairi's been thinking about. Waiting for them both to come home. Except…she's not happy anymore. Kairi's not happy anymore…and we should have done something about it. We should have done something from the very beginning. I should have known something was bound to happen when Roxas first showed up. They look alike, no surprise there._

Olette didn't want to be there when the showdown took place between the two teenagers. She adored them both, Sora for his devotion to Kairi, and Roxas because she's known him for so long. Just because of Kairi she was going to be forced to watch two people who don't even know the other exist hate each other forever and ever.

In the name of something stupid called love.

"Hey, you okay?" Someone tapped her on the shoulder. Olette jumped and looked up. It was Hayner.

"Oh, yeah, I'm fine…thanks…"

She noticed how concerned Hayner looked. He hadn't looked that way for a very long time, if not ever. Hayner normally didn't show signs of caring. He was the suave guy, the one who carried himself with pride. He didn't…outwardly show concern for another human being. That much she knew.

"So…why here?" he asked, sliding into the seat in front of her. Olette shrugged, started tapping at the glass top again.

"Just…had to get out of the house is all. I wanted to be outside to think. It helps me…clarify some things."

"Clarify?" Hayner asked as he reached for the faux leather-bound menu perched on a little iron cast holder at a corner of the café table.

Olette nodded. "Yeah…everything's been so mixed up nowadays. I can't figure out what to think so…I just needed some time."

"Then why'd you call me?"

"I had to ask you some questions," Olette replied matter-of-factly. "I was wondering if you could help me figure out this…problem."

"What problem?"

Olette sighed. "I…I'm worried about Kairi and Roxas. I already talked to Kairi but I was wondering if you ever talked to Roxas – or vice versa – about anything related to her."

Hayner shrugged as he flipped through the dessert menu. "Well…not exactly. I mean, I have a feeling he meant Kairi but he never really said it directly. I don't know. It was a while back, when Kairi was sick. He wanted to talk to me about this dream he had."

"A dream?"

"Yeah…and I have to tell you, it is the strangest dream I ever heard him having. I mean…he _kisses_ someone in that dream."

"Kisses? What the hell!" Olette demanded. She was not hearing this! "What the heck's gotten into Roxas's head-"

"Kairi," Hayner muttered. "It's her. She's messing him up, that's what."

Olette raised an eyebrow at the accusation. "Hayner, what's wrong with you? What has Kairi ever done to you? Do you like her, Hayner? Is that why you're so mad all the time, whenever those two are together? Are you jealous?"

Hayner paled, which was not what she expected. He looked around nervously, his brown eyes darting here and there. Then he leaned over and stared her in the eye.

"Remember that girl? Naminé?"

"Yeah."

"She came to me a while ago. She looked for me. She wanted to talk to me. I asked her why. Well…actually, it stated on the train ride. Remember?"

Olette nodded. Oh she remembered all right. She still at the blonde girl's drawing after all.

"Yeah, she told me-no, she asked me, if I could keep Roxas and Kairi away from each other. Not physically but…just…keep them as friends, nothing more, nothing complicated. She said it was going to be hard, and she wouldn't tell me why. But that's what she said. I asked her why I should do that, and she got secretive. It was…it was disturbing, Olette. I couldn't understand why anyone would be interested in that sort of thing. Then she told me there's things going on out there and Kairi's part of it. Like…she's part of it in a certain way…and if she gets involved with Roxas…it's not going to help us, Olette. _Us._"

Olette gaped at him. What the hell?

"I know that, Hayner. At least, that she's connected to Sora and what he's doing out there…but what is it about Roxas? What's wrong with him?"

Hayner shook his head. "I asked her several days ago…maybe weeks ago, I can't remember. She met me that one time I said I couldn't find my way to the sandlot…it was because she stopped me and said she had to talk to me. She said there was a reason why Kairi needs to stay away from Roxas. She said…"

Hayner stopped, swallowed, then opened his mouth again.

"Naminé said…that Kairi has to forget Roxas, and we have to, too. Not yet, but soon. We have to forget Roxas because…because we're not supposed to remember him. Olette, she said we're not supposed to know Roxas _at all_."

Olette stared at him, gaped at him, was shocked by his words. Forget Roxas? Supposed to? But-but why?

"She said…he was never supposed to be here. He wasn't supposed to be in Twilight Town _at all_. He was never supposed to live in Twilight Town and meet us and be our friend. I asked her what the hell that meant…she just said he wasn't supposed to…he just wasn't supposed to be here. We were never meant to meet him and he was never meant to meet Kairi. But…I don't know why…"

Olette leaned back in her seat and studied him. "There _is_ something going on after all. That girl, Naminé, was she on that train for a reason back then? Was she there just so that she could find us and ask you to do that? We've been wondering what the hell's wrong with you but we couldn't quite figure it out…until now."

"I know. I feel stupid for it but I had to do it," Hayner said. He sounded rather apologetic but Olette found herself distrusting that tone of voice. "It's…she made it sound so frightening if I didn't do anything about it. Like…the end of the world was near."

"She duped you with that? No, Hayner, you're just stupid. There's more to this than that! You think she's like a jealous former girlfriend Roxas didn't tell us about?"

Well, it's a thought. And a very good one, she decided, although it did seem a bit out of character. Hayner knew that, too.

"No way, not Roxas. That's not him, not ever," Hayner said, shaking his head. Then his head became fixed while still turning. "Hey, why is that guy looking at us like that?"

"Who?" Olette turned her head and spotted the waiter that had been giving her death glares before Hayner arrived. "Oh, _him_…"

"He wasn't hitting on you, was he?"

Olette jumped in her seat, slammed her hands on the table, and whirled on the blond teenager. "_Hayner_! What kind of question was that!"

Hayner shrugged; he was flushing hard. "I…I was just wondering. You know…we ought to look out for each other. Who knows what that guy wants to do with you-"

"Hayner, shut up. You're making me sick. And that's creepy. I've been sitting here for the past half-hour taking up space and not ordering anything; _that's_ what's making him tick. You have munny, by the way? I want a frappe and I have no munny on me."

Hayner blinked at her for a few seconds, then reached into his pocket. "Olette outside on the streets in a café…with no munny. That's not like you, Olette. Where'd your munny go?"

"I-I forgot. I left the house in a hurry-"

"Why?"

"I-I don't know-shut up! Let's not go there right now. That wasn't the reason why we're here."

"You mean you dragged me out here just to talk about-oh…hi."

The waiter had come back, and he was very, very pissed. He glared at them both and his words were tightly spoken, strained through tightly clenched teeth. "Would you like to _order_ something _today_?"

"Why yes!" Olette answered in a high, cheerful voice. "Can I have a frappe?"

"And a sea salt slush?"

The waiter jotted in his little paper pad, then said testily, "Thank you", turned around, and walked away.

Once the man was out of earshot, Hayner turned to Olette with a raised eyebrow. "Wow. You sure you were sitting around for _only_ thirty minutes?"

"Hayner, shut up," Olette snapped. "Now…where were we?"

"I don't know."

"You're a lot of help, thanks. This is our friend we're talking about here! How can you be so-"

"I told you already, Olette," Hayner interrupted coldly. "He was never supposed to exist. He was never supposed to be here in our lives screwing with our minds. You have _any_ idea how shocked I was-"

"Not enough. You sound like it's natural, that yeah, he isn't supposed to be here so we should just ignore him! Look, I don't know about you, but to me he _is_ my friend so I want to help him-"

"You like him?"

Olette was pretty sure Hayner was done with being incredulous. But this time he crossed the line, because Olette immediately saw red and splotches of violent light.

"_Excuse me_?" she hissed dangerously, rising to her feet. Hayner quickly leaned back in his seat, pushed back as far as possible while she leaned forward and their noses were practically touching. Actually, they really were touching. But Olette didn't care.

"I-I-Olette-uh-um-"

"Let me repeat what I just said," Olette said coldly. "_Excuse me?_ Did you just say what I think you just said?"

"Yes…"

Olette pulled back, stared at him as angrily as possible. "You know, that's a lot of bull you're pulling off on me. A lot. _No_, I don't like him. Maybe I used to but that was a long time ago-"

"A long time ago that didn't exist," Hayner muttered.

"Shut up. Listen to me. I don't like him. That was over a long time ago. I'm a friend, Hayner. I'm a friend and I'm a good friend, and I'm not going to watch my _friends_ fall apart while I do nothing. And all that bull you gave me is shit. Yes, you heard me. Shit. That's how mad I am right now, Hayner. Improve my mood in thirty seconds or I'll-"

"Your drinks?" The waiter was suddenly at the table, a blue slush in one hand and a light brown drink in the other. Olette, suddenly meek and embarrassed, sank back into her seat and Hayner looked visibly relieved as the waiter put the drinks on the table and placed the receipt in the middle. He walked off, and this time there was a strangely triumphant look on his face.

"It's like he was setting us up for a showdown or something," Hayner muttered as Olette pulled the frappe towards herself. He was spared a few more minutes as Olette sipped her frappe, then he felt safe enough to attack his sea salt slush.

"Showdown or no showdown, I want you to help Roxas, even if he's 'not supposed to exist'. I don't care because to me, he's someone and he's my friend. If you don't think he's your friend anymore, then you're not mine, either."

Hayner suddenly noticed she was quickly finishing her frappe, much faster than expected, and then she was done and rising to her feet and giving him that horrid death glare of hers. She smiled slightly as he shrank in his seat.

"Are you going to tell Pence, too?" she asked. She hadn't thought about that, actually, and it made her embarrassed that while she talked so much about friendship and what kind of friend she considered herself to be, she had forgotten about Pence.

Hayner looked up at her, rather surprised. "Pence? Why?"

"Why?" Was Hayner stupid or was he really not joking? "What do you mean, 'why'? You heard me. Are you going to tell Pence or not? This isn't right, not telling him this about our friends. I need both of you to help me, you know. I'm not going to play matchmaker but I don't want to see them beat themselves up and act really stupid about it, either."

Hayner sighed heavily. "I only told you because I needed to get a load off my chest. I'm keeping this up, I'm going to talk with Naminé about this, because I think she's quite serious about it. I don't know that many people who are so serious about 'breaking up a relationship'. Would you like for me to ask her about the reasons why we should forget Roxas even exists?"

Olette stared at him furiously. "No. I want you to go and watch all the soaps they play on television. You need better pick-up lines for these sorts of things."

"Women!" Hayner snorted. "I don't watch soaps."

"Sexist," Olette retorted. "I'm leaving."

And she made good on her word by storming out of the café, shoving aside chairs and tables and interrupting other people at the café. They jumped about, startled by the commotion she stirred up as she stormed out into the streets, then fixated their eyes on Hayner, who was now shrinking at an increasing rate to make himself as unnoticeable as possible.

"Crap," he muttered under his breath as he watched Olette disappear down the street. He rubbed the tip of his nose and slurped up the sea salt slush.

''

Pence, as usual, was buying a sea salt popsicle stick from a small mart in the shopping district. It was pretty sad, since the owner of the shop knew him very well and gave him discounts all the time, just to keep him coming back for more. That's how often Pence visited the small mart.

He was walking out of the tiny place, happily licking the ice cream bar, when he overheard some people talking.

"…again! Just how early to we have to wake up to get to the sandlot first?"

"I don't want to wake up early, though-"

"Oh shut up, you crybaby. Geezes, it's like a drama between those two. So get's on my nerves."

"I am not going to wake up before dawn, just to go to the sandlot and hit each other with bats. No way."

"Well…maybe we can go back. I mean…I don't think they're going to be doing more today. Not after a breakdown like that. That's the weirdest drama I've been witness to, honestly."

"It's disgusting. It's one thing to see them all over Twilight Town but another to find them like-like _that_! My god, it's disgusting."

"And you just said that."

"…shut up."

Pence crept closer and closer, then…

"You!" he yelled, jumping around the corner and scaring up three darkly-dressed teenagers. As he stood there, ice cream bar in hand, glaring at them, he noticed their attire. He then realized that he might have stumbled upon a gang.

The silver-haired girl eyed the dripping popsicle stick in his hand while the huge redhead cocked his head to the side quizzically. Then the black-haired teenager stepped forward.

"Do we…ah…know you?"

"Yeah, you ran me down and just kept running without so much as a sorry!" Pence snapped. "How rude can you be?"

"Well, that would be our fault-" the redhead began.

"No, Reino. It's all yours. I didn't do anything," the silver-haired girl retorted.

"Kitsuna, you suggested it."

"Did not!"

"She suggested they cram something down my pants and I took off because they've done it before," black-haired teenager explained, his pale face darkening slightly. He scratched his head as he spoke but didn't give the other two so much of a glare. Apparently he didn't blame them at all. "Look, I'm sorry for running you down like that but that was a while back so can't you…uh…forget about it and hope it never happens again?"

"Well, I would forget about it," Pence admitted honestly, "but I had nothing to occupy me so I kept…thinking about it."

"Man, that's got to be boring, thinking about something so stupid just because there was nothing better to do," the redhead crowed. He was the one named Reino. "Hey, what's your name?"

"Pence. Yours?"

"Name's Reino. That spitfire over there's Kitsuna and the buddy who ran you over like a train's Sakusen."

"Hey, I said it wasn't my fault-"

"Sakusen, if you used your agility for once, you wouldn't run into that trash can the other day, remember?" Kitsuna fired. Sakusen muttered something dark and looked elsewhere.

"Um…" Pence decided to ask about the arena. "You guys compete in the Struggle Tournaments?"

Kitsuna nodded vigorously. "Yeah, we've been training for the next annual summer tournaments. All three of us sucked the last time we tried…well, except for Sakusen. The only reason why Reino and I never made it past the prelims was because in all our practices Sakusen beat the shit out of us."

"Yeah, thanks, Sakusen!" Reino called out.

"Hey, it wasn't my fault you guys wouldn't practice-"

"We would if you didn't bruise us up like that!"

"Wait…" Pence said. "How come I never saw him?"

"Oh. Family emergency. His grandmother died and he had to go," Reino explained.

"Really? I'm sorry," Pence said, looking at the teenager in question.

Sakusen shrugged. "Doesn't matter. I didn't know her very well anyways. Next time, though, I will get to the top."

"Yeah, I'll meet you there, buddy," Reino grinned.

"Unless I kick your ass first," Kitsuna retorted.

Pence decided to just back away now. They just seemed…so competitive about this.

"Say, you happen to be friends with that one blond teenager, the one who's always going to the sandlot?" Sakusen suddenly asked. "The one with the pretty redhead?"

"Who, Roxas?"

"Don't know his name but if that is, fine with us," Reino piped in.

It dawned on Pence that these three interchangeably used 'I' and 'we' amongst themselves. How close were they as friends anyways?

"What about him?"

"Why does he go to the sandlot so often? And with her?"

"Oh…well…um…he's trying to teach her how to fight. She wanted to learn, too, I guess…"

"Do they like each other?" Reino blurted out. Kitsuna moved to smack him on the head but he held out his hand and stopped her.

Pence stared at him. "I have no idea, actually."

"How can you have no idea? The way they were, it's like they've been going out forever or something," Kitsuna demanded. "Reino, you _need_ this wake-up call, okay? Now get over here and let me-"

"Hey, I don't know anything about relationships so leave me out of it," Pence quickly added. "I don't know what's going on between them so don't ask me."

"We thought you'd know, being friends with him and that other blond teenager and all…and that brunette. Yeah, we thought you'd know."

"Does this have anything to do with Roxas's look-a-like?" Kitsuna demanded. "I saw him, him and his two weird friends-"

"Kitsuna, that has nothing to do with what we're talking about," Sakusen interrupted. "What _were_ we talking about, anyways?"

"I don't know anything about these relationship issues," Pence reminded him. "And…uh…I have to go. I have to meet up with some people, sorry about that."

"No problem."

"What time do those two get to the sandlot?"

"Have they kissed yet-ow!"

"Reino!"

"What? I was just wondering! Ow! My god, woman, stop assaulting me!"

Pence knew that as soon as he traced his steps and turned the corner, he'd run for his life. There was something about those three that really nagged him but it could be just him.

Oh they were just plain weird.

**X X X**

**Author's Endnote:** I confess I won't be updating _Best Deceptions_ anytime soon, being caught up in some pet projects and fanart, and school, of course. Comments, questions, compliments, etc. accepted. Flamers flame at your own risk. You have been warned.

Arigatou goziamas'!


	23. From the Inside

**Author's Note:** I rewrote at least half of all the material in this chapter. This chapter was also supposed to be MUCH longer but as too much material would be crammed into one chapter, I decided to cut it down. It's still a sizeable read.

**Disclaimer:** The characters, settings, and back story are copyrighted by Square-Enix and Disney. The storyline and original characters are mine, particularly in this chapter. Pence's acting like an idiot is also my fault. Chapter title was inspired by _Chain_ by BACK-ON but was eventually stolen from Linkin Park.

**X X X**

**A Walk In Andante**

**23 – From the Inside**

It was yet another day. One day after another, another day after another, and on, and on, and on, and on…

Roxas groaned. His mind has to stop thinking about it. Just has to stop!

_Lies. All lies. Everything's a lie. It'll never escape me, can it? Everything…it's all lies._

But…yesterday, when he held her, it didn't seem like a lie at all. He flexed his fingers, still felt the smooth silky feel of her hair as he ran his hand through the red locks, trying to soothe her while she sobbed against his chest. There were no tears but the pain was there. The pain was real.

"_It's my fault. I can't talk to you. I can't talk about it with you. I-I can't."_

She had to be talking about Sora. There was nothing else - nobody else - that could have triggered so complete a breakdown as hers.

_Why won't she talk to me about him? Is she trying to hide him from me? Is she trying to live…a lie? Is she trying to forget Sora…because of me? Am I the cause of her pain? Her misery? Is that it?_

Roxas stopped walking.

"I…I did this to her?"

There was Naminé's visit that one night, too, when she said that his returning to Twilight Town overthrew and triggered an upheaval of everything.

"_That is not it! You don't get it, do you? We've been thrown off-track! Uncharted waters, Roxas! We don't know what to do and we're trying to figure it out! We don't know whether to focus on Sora's problem, you two, or that someone who started all of this! We are scrambling, damn it, to get everything right!"_

Roxas shook his head. Her voice was ringing in his ear constantly whenever he thought about it. Naminé's anger was so frightening, so…real?

_She's right. Something's happening to the both of us. But what? What's happening to us? Inside us?_

Roxas shook his head and entered the alleyway that led to the sandlot.

"…since dawn…"

Who was that? He walked a little faster.

"…wait for him to…"

Kairi.

Roxas ran. He hoped, oh he hoped, that it wasn't some Organization member or just someone who was out to make trouble.

Except when he burst out into the open and came to a screeching stop, he realized these were people he had seen before. He had seen them when they ran across Tram Plaza, raising havoc. And he had seen the black-haired teenager at the train.

Were these all just coincidences? Or were they being orchestrated by some unknown being who's after him and Kairi?

"Oh hello there," the skinny silver-haired girl called out. She had been holding out a blue bat and hefting it to test for balance. "We've been waiting for quite a while, you know."

Roxas looked at her, then around the sandlot wildly until he spotted Kairi standing with the black-haired teenager. She was wearing denim shorts and a white tank top; she was restlessly tapping her shoe with a blue bat while the black-haired teenager leaned on his and was in chat mode with her. Naturally they stopped talking when he appeared.

And then there was the huge redhead down at the arena muttering angrily about tiny bats while tossing them about, looking for a suitable one.

"Can I…ask what's going on here?" he asked slowly, taking a step in Kairi's direction. The black-haired teenager immediately stood up and backed away.

"Hey, I wasn't messing with your girl, if that's what you're asking," he said quickly. Kairi flushed, said, "I'm not his girl."

"Oh really?" the redhead yelled from the arena. The silver-haired teenager hefting her bat glared at him.

"Reino, shut your hole and stop sticking your nose where it doesn't belong!"

The guy, Reino, shrugged and returned to sorting through bats, muttering, "Just stating the obvious…"

The girl turned to Roxas. "Ignore him. Reino likes to assume things."

He nodded slowly, then asked, "Um…what's your name?"

"Sakusen," the black-haired teenager said calmly, holding out his hand. Roxas shook it, then turned to the others.

"That down there is a chunk of flesh called Reino-" "Babe, you know I'm more than that!" "-and I'm Kitsuna. Reino, I'm warning you!"

Roxas raised an eyebrow, decided not to say anything about that. He then looked at Sakusen again. "So…um…here for practice?"

"We've been here since dawn but we had to wait for the town officials to get here and let us have at the bats!" Reino yelled. "They're pretty stupid, if you ask me!"

"No, Reino, you're just retarded," Kitsuna answered sarcastically.

"Aw, Kitsuna, that hurt."

She merely stuck out her tongue and then turned to Roxas. "Fact was, we've been trying to get here but we keep finding you two messing around so we've been trying to get here earlier and earlier…except this time we got here so early our plan backfired."

"I…see."

"Say," Sakusen said, coming forward. "I've seen you in the tournaments before, Roxas. You wanna spar a bit?"

Roxas stared at him. He remembered quite clearly that he had yet to tell them his name.

"I told them, Roxas," Kairi said, coming up to him as well. She touched his arm. "Don't freak out like that."

He shook his head a bit. "Sorry…"

Reino snorted and Kitsuna chucked her bat at him. While Kairi's jaw dropped in surprise, Reino threw himself to the side and yelped, "Ya missed!"

Kitsuna shrugged. "That wasn't the point."

"I'll spar with you, if you're interested," Roxas quickly interjected, not wanting to know just how violent Kitsuna could get. Sakusen grinned.

"Awesome."

Roxas jogged to the arena and began kicking through the impressive pile of blue bats Reino left lying around. While Sakusen waited politely, he found one to his liking and kicked the rest of the bats aside. He turned to Sakusen.

"No holds back?"

Sakusen grinned as he slowly shifted his feet. Roxas found he didn't like that smile. There was something evil about it.

"No way."

Then Sakusen became a blur, running in an arc towards him. Roxas jumped back before the guy ran him down but Sakusen lashed out and smashed him in the side. He rolled across the floor, then leaped to his feet. Seconds later, he ducked and swiped at Sakusen's back.

He missed.

_Why is he so fast!_

Roxas quickly backed up and watched Sakusen shifted from side to side across the arena. Then Sakusen bolted towards him and Roxas jumped to the side. He threw his arms around and the bats contacted painfully. The force of the impact shoved him across the floor and he slid until the friction slowed him down. Sakusen recovered remarkably fast from the impact, though, and ran at Roxas again.

Roxas decided to try meeting him head on.

Bats clashed and they came within inches of each other. Sakusen's eyes were cold, brutally cold. There was no emotion in them whatsoever. Something chilly stirred in Roxas as they continued to stare at each other, their bodies straining to overwhelm the other. He knew that look, he knew that look as intimately as he knew himself and who he was.

"I know you can do better than that," Sakusen whispered.

And then Roxas realized this teenager sounded like pure evil.

"Just watch," Roxas hissed, and shoved him back.

''

The way they were at it, she thought they were hell bent on killing each other. She looked at Kitsuna and Reino, saw they were watching the duel with utmost intensity.

"…are they going to…kill each other?" she asked rather meekly.

Roxas leaped over Sakusen's head and dropped low to avoid being punctured by the other guy's bat. Then he was up and going into combat like she couldn't believe it. He was a blur, darting this way and that while blocking and striking. But what shocked her even more was how fast Sakusen was in countering him. They were evenly matched.

"Oh this is good," she heard Reino say. "Look at them go."

Kairi looked, saw the two teenagers zigzagging across the arena. Literally. Then Sakusen took a step back and threw himself to the ground, rolling on his shoulder and quickly getting up to his feet behind Roxas. Roxas whirled around and ducked to avoid the swinging blue bat, then lashed out. This time, Sakusen took the hit and stumbled to the side. Roxas jumped at him and hit him again. Sakusen staggered, then righted himself, whirling around with the bat swinging.

"That's it?" Kitsuna muttered. "So slow."

"Slow?" Kairi demanded. Slow? How could this be slow? She thought they were moving fast-

"Holy shit."

Roxas was suddenly airborne. He somersaulted over Sakusen's head and landed, then took off again within milliseconds of touchdown. He skimmed over the ground, swung out, and nearly clobbered Sakusen over. While the black-haired teenager quickly recovered and turned to Roxas, the blond teenager ran to the pile and snatched up another bat. He came to a screeching stop and stood before Sakusen, both bats crossed in front of him.

"He's a dual wielder?" Kitsuna gasped in astonishment. "Now _this_ I've got to see."

Kairi never knew Roxas could use two weapons.

Roxas ran at Sakusen again, swinging his right arm from left to right. Sakusen blocked to avoid the blow, but couldn't avoid the left arm going from right to left. Then the right arm lashed out at Sakusen's legs and tripped him over. The force of the blow pushed Roxas past the stumbling teenager and he skid across the floor. He turned to Sakusen, saw the teenager was still on his feet, though a bit unsteady.

"Damn, that was good," Reino commented. "Two blades. The guy at the receiving end will never know what hit him. Sakusen had better do good or else I am so busting him after this-Sakusen, behind you!"

Kairi turned her head from Reino to the arena, just in time to see Sakusen jump back to avoid both bats swung at him. Then Roxas ran at him from down low, lashed out with his right arm. Sakusen blocked it with his foot, threw up his arm to stop the left arm from impacting his side. Roxas made a U-turn, came face-to-face with Sakusen. From what Kairi could see, while Roxas looked pissed, Sakusen seemed emotionless. Disturbingly lacking in any emotion, even anger and frustration.

"Y'think we should stop this?"

"Look at them. They're so into it. Sakusen gets pushed to the limit, he'll kill himself."

"I'm getting bored, really bored. They get all the fun, seriously-"

"Fun?" Kairi demanded. "That's _fun_?"

"I think it's fun," Kitsuna said with a shrug. "Then again, I like fighting. It's…fun."

Kairi shook her head. Fighting was fun? How could people see things that way? She watched Sakusen throw himself to the side to avoid Roxas, decided that the black-haired teenager was becoming rather desperate in trying to escape the dual wielder. That sure didn't look like fun.

Fun? Was fighting fun? Fighting, perhaps, Heartless? How about, say, that Axel character? She knew he fought. Perhaps he fought against Sora. And from what Kairi could tell, if one survived Sora, one must have been very good at fighting.

Fighting didn't seem like fun at all. Perhaps Kitsuna had yet to face reality. Perhaps.

"Okay, show's over!" Reino boomed, striding into the arena. His voice bounced off the buildings all around them and echoed strongly.

Roxas screeched to a stop while Sakusen leaped to his feet and tossed his bat to the side. Roxas did the same. Both boys were sweating profusely but Roxas wasn't breathing hard at all. Sakusen had banished his emotionless mask and was gasping, trying to catch his breath. He swallowed a few times, then looked at the other teenager.

"Damn," Sakusen muttered.

Roxas shrugged. "That was a good fight. Game?"

He held out his hand. Sakusen looked at it, then at Roxas. Kairi saw Roxas flinch but he still held his hand out. Sakusen reached out, took it, and they shook hands. Then Sakusen turned and started walking towards where Kitsuna and Kairi were standing. Kairi quickly moved to Roxas.

"You alright?" she asked.

"Just…need to take a break," Roxas muttered. "That Sakusen…who taught him?"

"That good, huh?"

Roxas shrugged. He ran a hand through his hair, then shook it. Sweat sprayed everywhere.

"Hey!" Kairi yelped, jumping back. "You're not a dog! Stop it!"

Roxas looked at her and grinned, damp hair falling all over his face. She smiled, then laughed. Through the laughter she saw Roxas smile sheepishly and scratch his head. And suddenly, for a brief second, it wasn't Roxas standing in front of her. It was…

_You look just like him._

He peeked up at her face, his hands on his knees, watching and waiting for her to stop giggling. It was strange, she though, that he would be acting so much like Sora all of a sudden. Or maybe…maybe that's just her imagination. Her laughter faltered slightly as she reconsidered exactly what had gone through her mind. Then Roxas stepped forward and hugged her. Her laughter died away completely as she became aware of his hot presence and though she knew she was blushing and others were watching, she returned the embrace tightly. Through her eyelashes she saw his hair, glistening with sweat in the morning light. It reminded her of pale gold.

His arms tightened, pulled her closer against him, and she let him, didn't mind. She closed her eyes and rubbed her cheek against his shoulder, took slow deep breaths. The thrill, the rush, it was so slow to go away and sink back down into regularity. Her heart beat rapidly as she began replaying the match in her mind, the perfect-

"Hey, hey, hey! Not here!" Reino shouted.

"Reino, what the hell! Now knock it off!"

"Ow!"

Roxas pulled his arms back quickly and Kairi, rubbing her face, looked at the trio of teenagers standing off the side. Kitsuna was glaring daggers of fury at Reino, who was rubbing his head and apparently checking to see if his hair was alright, while Sakusen, who was standing a distance away from the two, was giving them a rather knowing look. Kairi flushed and stared at her feet.

"Later then?" Sakusen asked quietly.

"Sure," Kairi said at the same time as Roxas.

Reino sniggered again.

"Okay," Kitsuna snapped. "Show's over, Reino. Let's move it, kid."

"I'm seventeen!"

"You sure don't act like it!"

"Aw, Kitsuna, that hurt!"

"And I'll hurt you more if you don't move your ass along…"

While Kitsuna and Reino started walking away, holding a rather bitter but playful argument, Sakusen hung back, hesitating. He looked at her, then at Roxas, then at her again.

"There's been some shady people moving around," he said slowly. "I haven't met them personally but I've overheard other people talking about them. You two better look out for them. I don't think they mean to play nice."

"We know," she said, running her hand up and down her forearm. She could feel bumps, goosebumps. The weather was warm. "But thanks for the heads up."

Sakusen nodded, then turned and ran to his two friends. She watched them disappear around the corner, then looked at Roxas. There was a strangely contemplative look on his face.

"Roxas? What's bothering you?" she asked.

He was still staring at where the three teenagers were. But he did speak, slowly, cautiously.

"They…I think something's going to happen…to them. There's this feeling…that seeing them all over Twilight Town…it's not coincidence. It's like…someone's setting them up…for something to come."

"You believe in fate?"

Roxas tilted his head downward, seemed to be studying the ground. Then he shook his head.

"No. No, I don't."

Kairi cocked her head to the side. "Why not?"

He shrugged. "I just think it's…wrong…for fate to exist. It means everything we do, everything we've done, everything we will do, it's all been predicted. It's like…someone's making us do things…and we have no say in the matter. No say at all."

_This sounds familiar. It's like…someone's told me this before-Seifer! He's said the same thing, the same thing about fate, about destiny, about…choosing what to do. Free will._

"You're not much of a romantic, are you?" she asked, remembering quite well her conversation with Olette the other day.

"I don't believe in looking at the world through rose-colored lenses," Roxas answered, his voice growing cold. Kairi looked at him sharply, saw that he was staring off into nowhere. "I don't think there's anything romantic about life. Fate? Destiny? How can someone be happy that some greater power or something out of his or her control can dictate the way one lives? The way one goes through life? The way one dies? Is there anything romantic about that? Is there?"

His voice was growing colder and colder. Kairi took a step back, had a feeling that something must have happened in the past that made him so angry about predestination. About fate.

"So…you…don't believe in…" _What would Selphie say about this, I wonder? What would I say? Wait, why am I saying this?_ "…what about…the idea of star-crossed lovers?"

Roxas didn't answer. She watched, waited, but he kept staring off into the light sky, his mouth a thin line. Then he spoke, slowly.

"It's…fate, isn't it? That there's someone out there who you know you love. That the someone who's out there loves you back. It's…expected. It's a fact…and there's no room for change. You can't step to the side, you can't step off the road, you can't…go to worlds you're not supposed to go to, meet the people you're not supposed to meet, fight the ones you're not supposed to hate, or…or fall in love…with someone you were never supposed to… And you'll never wonder why, because you don't know any worlds outside the ones you're supposed to live or visit, you'll never meet the people who'll become your friends or your enemies, you'll never…because all you'll notice…is the one you're supposed to love. Isn't that…isn't what pre-destination is? Isn't that fate? Is that what you believe in?"

Kairi shook as he suddenly turned his head and looked straight at her. There was something terrible in what he said, something cold and real. Like Seifer, he was questioning the very core of her life, her livelihood, her beliefs, what she had faith in.

Faith that Sora will bring Riku home. Faith that there is a future with him. Together. Like they knew it…from so long ago…

_Does he know about Sora? It seems so vague, so…discreet, but it's like he knows I believe in this, he knows I believe that somewhere in the future, it'll be Sora and me. Together. Is he so angry because…because he likes me? Is Olette right after all?_

_Destiny. Fate. Isn't it…comforting, knowing that something sure will happen in the future, something you can rely on? Hope. It gives you hope, doesn't it? To be without a sure path…it's like…you're lost. You don't know where to go, what to do, what to believe in. How can people believe in that? Why would people put their lives on the line, like I've read in those school textbooks, just to create a future where they could die any day and they'll never know who'll they meet and who they'll hate and who they'll love? Why would people die for free will? I don't…understand._

"I've been through things…that make me ask myself: Did I deserve this? Did someone decide that this is what I have to go through? Is this it? Is. This. It! Why didn't I have any say in this? Why!" Roxas shouted. Raw agony, full of fury and pain. Kairi backed away, shocked at the anger. What did she do to trigger such hatred?

Roxas leaned over, pressing his hand against his chest. He was breathing hard, his eyes fixed on the ground. Kairi swallowed, swallowed again, then stepped forward.

"Roxas…what happened? What happened, back then?"

"_No, I'm just telling you this because I want you to watch out for yourself. You don't know this Roxas. Nobody does. Let's call him a wild card, per say, and he's offering you the chance to step out of the box you're in, the walls all around you."_

The more she thought about it, the more she began to wonder. Had Sora ever come to a decision like this? Had Sora ever wondered about his…destiny…as a Keyblade Master? Had he wondered if he would have chosen to be one if he was given the chance to choose? Or was it…destiny? Was it destiny that decided he was a Keyblade Master, a wielder of the Key?

What about herself? She was a Princess of Heart and this wasn't a title. She was born with a pure heart, a heart untouched by the inherent darkness in all hearts. But was there a destiny tied to being a Princess of Heart? Was she fated to be connected to the Wielder? Or would she have chosen to do otherwise if given the chance, if there were more paths than one?

_If given the chance, would I have chosen to be with Sora?_

"Kairi?"

She looked at him, saw he wasn't looking at her. He was still staring at the ground. He didn't look or sound so angry now. He sounded…frightened. Fearful. Scared.

"I'm here," she whispered, took one more step to stand by him, and placed a hand on his shoulder. She squeezed it, let him know she was there. "I'm still here."

He nodded.

"I know."

"Hey!"

She looked up, saw Olette and Pence approaching them. Olette looked rather drawn and exhausted, but Pence was as cheerful as ever. He waved a half-eaten sea salt ice cream bar at them as they came closer.

"Wow, Roxas, you look all knocked out. Did Kairi do that to you because that would be awesome if she did," Pence rambled. Olette was merely watching.

"No…someone challenged me and we had a little duel," Roxas said slowly. "He was pretty good for someone I've never seen before."

"Really?" Olette asked curiously.

Pence suddenly looked uncomfortable. Kairi watched him, saw him eye the many bats scattered all around the arena. Then he whistled.

"Must have been one heck of a fight."

And then Kairi remembered how frightening Roxas was as he hammered at Sakusen. He seemed inept at first, then was suddenly out dueling the black-haired teenager to the point she started worrying for Sakusen.

"Yeah…it was. Never seen anything like it," she whispered, her mind replaying the somersault over Sakusen's head.

"Olette?" Roxas asked, his head still down. "Where's Hayner?"

"Hayner?" Olette repeated. Her voice was fainter now, echoing in a sense. "What about him?"

Kairi looked at the brunette sharply. Then she realized that Hayner was nowhere in sight.

"They…had a little argument, I think," Pence answered for her. "She wouldn't tell me anything about it but from the looks of it, it was a pretty serious one."

Since when did Olette fight with Hayner? She looked at Olette again, waited for some sort of explanation from the other girl.

"It's…it's nothing. Just some stupid stuff," Olette said with a smile. She did seem tired. "C'mon, let's go to that one club I mentioned before."

"What about Hayner?" Pence asked.

Olette shrugged. "He doesn't like clubs anyways. It won't matter. What about you, Roxas?"

He shook his head, was still staring at the ground. "No…not today. I…I need to think."

"About what?" Pence said while biting off a chunk of sea salt ice cream.

Roxas shrugged, then stood up straight and wiped at his face. He sighed. "Stuff."

He looked at Kairi. She saw that Roxas looked a bit flush. His blue eyes were shining a little too brightly.

_Roxas was crying?_

That was utterly implausible to Kairi. She looked at him, felt something gnaw at her insides. He looked so helpless, so lost in the middle of everything. He looked so…miserable.

Olette and Pence phased out of her mind until they had never existed before in her life. She looked at him, wondering at the unnatural shine in his eyes and the sad wistful look on his face. He kept his eyes on her, too, was unwavering in watching her. Kairi felt something, a strange brushing feeling deep inside. There was a tugging, a need, but she couldn't recognize it.

It all felt so unfamiliar and yet everything felt so right. Did it? She wanted to step forward and hug him, hug him tightly and tell him that she was there, that wherever he went, she would be with him.

"_I'm always with you, too."_

Sora.

Again. The closer she tried to get to Roxas, the more often Sora reappeared in her mind. He was becoming a roadblock, not a goal, not a promise but an obstacle. Why? How did the transformation take place? That couldn't be happening. Guilt swam amongst her thoughts, horrid conflicting feelings.

Sora made a promise to her, to come back to her with Riku, to give back her lucky charm.

"_Kairi!"_

"_Sora!"_

"_Kairi, remember what you said before? I'm always with you, too. I'll come back to you, I promise!"_

"_I know you will!"_

"Hello? Yoo hoo, anybody home? Wake up!" Pence yelled, waving his half-eaten ice cream bar around. She jumped, looked at Olette and Pence with wide, shocked eyes. Then she calmed down, but her heart kept pounding.

"Kairi?" Olette asked tentatively, hesitantly. She knew, she knew everything. Of course she'd know everything. She watches and waits and then when she speaks, it all makes so much sense. And it's all so confusing.

Kairi looked at Olette briefly, then at Roxas again. Now there was a different look in him, one that was rather…nostalgic. Melancholy. Like he's losing something he'll never be able to have. She could feel it, she could see it, she knew it.

Then he smiled softly. "I'll be fine, Kairi."

"Okay," she said, then looked at Olette and Pence. They both looked baffled, like they were witness to some mysterious exchange between the two and couldn't get it at all.

But Kairi understood completely.

"Let's go," Olette then said. She turned and began to walk towards the nearest alleyway. Pence joined her, and so did Kairi. She walked rather slowly, suddenly felt a reluctance to leave him.

But she looked back and he simple shook his head. He whispered something, a murmur that reached her ear as she turned a corner and he disappeared from sight. And at once a warmth began to spread from within her, a sense of presence, like someone was with her, next to her, holding her.

"I'm always with you, too."

''

_Asshole, you just had to go and say that! Now she's going to start wondering, questioning about your damn past! Idiot! Idiot, idiot, idiot, idiot! You're stepping over the line and now you're going to pay for it!_

He bumped into yet another person, muttered a quick apology, then kept walking quickly, clenching and unclenching his hands constantly. He felt hot all over, flush and loose of limb. The one line kept repeating over and over in his head, made him wish desperately to be able to rewind and stop himself from uttering that one line, that one sentence.

"_I'm always with you, too."_

He knew she didn't want to leave him. He knew she didn't want to put any distance between them. He knew he wanted the same thing, too.

The longer Sora stayed away from Twilight Town, the longer the days went on untroubled, the stranger things appeared to be. The run-ins with Sakusen, Kitsuna, and Reino were one thing. Naminé and Axel's desperation to keep him away from Kairi was another. But Kairi herself…it was like…with every passing day, there was something between them, some growing connection that was tying them to each other more and more.

It made him miserably uncomfortable that she was somewhere else.

"_I'm here. I'm still here."_

"_I know."_

He sighed, looked up at the midday sky. People jostled around him, muttered about the business of the day, growled about rude people standing in the middle of busy streets, and basically remained within their own bubbles, their own worlds.

That's what it's like, right? Worlds revolving by themselves, minding their own businesses, not willing to look beyond itself to the other worlds, to the greater picture.

And then worlds collide.

Roxas decided to check out the marketplace. Well, he couldn't decide otherwise; his feet were already carrying him in the direction of that one bustling area of the shopping district.

He turned a corner and nearly ran into his landlord.

"Oh, sorry-"

"What the! You! Hey, when can I expect the first payment?" the large man demanded, overcoming his surprise rather quickly. "When?"

"Um…" Roxas swore inwardly, realized he forgot to find a job. "In a few…"

"Few what?"

"I'll get it to you next week," he blurted out. "Don't worry. You'll get it."

The landlord glared at him some, then nodded gruffly and moved onward. He seemed to make a point of his low faith in Roxas by jostling him brutally as he walked past the blond teenager.

Roxas sighed, then kept walking towards the marketplace. He sighed again, felt like he was the only one in the world who had crap chasing after him everywhere. The world had something against him for sure.

_No you asshole, that's just you. _

"Hey, look who we have here."

_Damn. I lied._

He was now in the midst of the marketplace, which was what it was called. There were people walking about everywhere, some with groceries, some without. There were many restaurants and marts, and even more residents of Twilight Town. It must have been ridiculous luck for Roxas to just casually run into Seifer and his gang, right?

Roxas glowered at Seifer, felt surprise inside when Seifer abruptly stepped back.

"Don't like that look you're giving me, loser," Seifer snapped. "You want me to start some trouble? Is that what you're asking for?"

"That's right, ya know!" Rai added. "Ya want us to start messing with you and your friends again?"

Roxas sighed. But then, in the far back of his mind, a dark world bloomed, of a quiet black sea and the rising full moon. Anger. Resentment. Lost. Solitude. Fury.

"Do I look like I want to mess with you?" Roxas demanded, taking a step forward. He saw Fuu give him a long look, then step back. Rai didn't look so gruff and tough anymore. And Vivi, short Vivi, immediately found something else to be interesting and shuffled off. "Do I look like I want to take more shit from you? Back off and go the hell away!"

Seifer seemed to be rendered speechless. He stared at Roxas in shock. He closed his mouth, then opened it again, then closed it tightly and looked away.

"Get out of my way, Seifer," Roxas said slowly and coldly. "Get the hell out."

They didn't move. Roxas sighed, then stormed past them, shoving Seifer into Rai and never looking back to see what happened.

_I am just so tired of their shit! My god, where's this anger coming from? How did I get so pissed?_

And that outburst, back at the arena, when it was just the two of them alone, did he scare her? Did he shock her?

_Naminé knows I remember. But how can I let Kairi know about it? she knows me as I am here, in Twilight Town. She doesn't know me in the Organization. She doesn't even know I _was_ part of the Organization. She doesn't know how opposed the Organization and Sora are. She knows…nothing. Did I scare her? _

He looked this way and that, became aware of where he was for once. The heart of the marketplace. It was early afternoon. People were busy purchasing what looked like lunch. It make Roxas feel rather hungry. Maybe he should check one of the marts and see if there was anything to eat. He wasn't even sure if he was hungry or not-

"Roxas? What are you doing here?"

"Why, I'm not allowed to be here?" he demanded, still in the throes of the anger. It was only a few seconds later that he recognized it was Hayner he was talking to. "Hayner? What are you doing here?"

He turned to the voice and saw Hayner standing there, holding some tangerines in his right hand. Hayner looked rather stunned. Roxas sighed.

_Crap. Not again._

"What happened to you?" Hayner asked carefully coming to him. "You look like you've got the crap beaten out of you."

Roxas shrugged. "Had a duel with someone. Ran into Seifer just a second ago."

"Did you piss him off?"

"He pissed me off."

Hayner gaped at him. "What? Seifer pissed you off? Roxas, what's gotten into you? What's wrong with you? Since when did you ever get that pissed off?"

_Crap._

"It's…it's not it. You wouldn't understand…it's a long story," Roxas sighed. "It's really complicated, Hayner. Let's not talk about it."

Hayner nodded slowly, then repeated his question. "What are you doing here?"

Roxas shrugged. "Kairi's gone off with Olette and Pence to a dance club. I-what's that?"

"What, these tangerines?" Hayner asked, looking at his right hand and the three little orange ovals.

"You and tangerines? I thought you hated them. Is this about Olette?"

"What!" Hayner flushed. "N-no! I just-I just wanted to try them! And this."

He held up a banana-like fruit twice the size of his hand and in the shape of a pentacle.

"Yeah, what's that?" Roxas asked curiously. It looked strangely familiar but he couldn't put his finger to it. It looked like it was sliced and dusted with something reddish brown.

"Um…I think that lady over there called it the starfruit. She gives them out in slices and puts something on them. No idea but-" Hayner took a bite out of one of the legs "-it tastes awesome. She started to say something about it, too, but someone interrupted her, asking for some yams or something. Why?"

Roxas gestured to the starfruit with his head. "Where can I get one?"

**X X X**

**Author's Endnote:** All these constant questions that I can't answer completely bother me. I'd like to start posting my responses on either my Xanga or LiveJournal to every question you've asked in your review. Please take note of this before you review.

Comments, questions, compliments, etc. accepted. Flamers flame at your own risk. You have been warned.

Arigatou goziamas'!


	24. His Majesty's Doubts

**Author's Note:** This is a really retarded chapter; it's focused more on the story than relationships between teenagers. Because this is so short and people are going to flame me for posting this chapter, I'll post the next chapter tomorrow. That one should cater more to your taste, but of course it all depends. Also, this wasn't well-written, just to let you know.

**Disclaimer:** The characters, settings, and back story are copyrighted by Square-Enix and Disney. The storyline and original characters are mine. The chapter title's retarded, this whole chapter's retarded, but read if you will.

**X X X**

**A Walk In Andante**

**24 – His Majesty's Doubts**

"How do you turn hearts into data? That makes no sense to me," Cloud Strife remarked softly.

King Mickey shrugged. He looked around at the others, saw the confusion in their faces. Then he said quietly, "I don't read DiZ's mind. I would love to but that's impossible. What that man's trying to do is beyond me. All I want to know is if anything's happened. Has anything changed? News from Sora, perhaps? Or updates on the Organization? Have they…shown any change of plans?"

They all looked at each other, then at Squall 'Leon' Leonhart. He sighed. "I don't have any information of that sort, Your Majesty. I'm sorry."

"Just what are you looking for anyways?" Cid Highwind demanded. He switched the toothpick in his mouth from left to right, then back to left. "What happened?"

King Mickey sighed. "I would love to tell you but…I can't. Something's up. Everybody has his or her agenda. DiZ and Naminé certainly have theirs. I think they erased my memory."

"No way!" Yuffie Kisaragi shouted. "Why would they do that?"

"What are they trying to hide, Your Majesty?" Aerith Gainsborough asked softly. "There's no reason to hide your memory. What were you doing in Twilight Town?"

The question hit home. They could tell King Mickey was suddenly reluctant to speak of that matter. He shifted on his feet and his eyes looked here and there. His whippy tail twirled in the air restlessly.

"Then you haven't forgotten everything," Cloud said. "Why did you go to Twilight Town anyways?"

"Well _that_ I can tell you," King Mickey said, looking up. "Sora's been having dreams lately. They were mild ones, I'm pretty sure, but one of them apparently hit him really hard. He's been…freaking out ever since. He's worried. About Kairi. He's scared of losing her."

"Oh…" Yuffie said knowingly.

"There's more to the story, I bet," Cid interjected. "Why would you go to Twilight Town because of a dream? It's just a kid having a nightmare about someone he's in love with. No reason for you to leave him, Donald, and Goofy to check up on Kairi."

"And no reason for you to come to us, not go back to Sora," Leon added. "What's going on, Your Majesty?"

King Mickey hemmed and hawed, looked elsewhere for a moment. It was then he noticed the quiet long-haired young woman standing with Aerith and Yuffie.

"I'm Tifa Lockheart…Your Majesty," she said calmly when she noticed his eyes on her.

He nodded slowly, then looked at Leon. Well, he did look at everyone but mostly Leon, since mostly everyone considered him the leader of the recently restored Radiant Garden.

"I sent Pluto to see if I did have to go see things for myself. I told him to find Kairi and see if there's been any problems whatsoever. Well…there's nothing wrong with her, technically, so Sora doesn't have to worry about that. However…"

He sighed. "Pluto seemed to have found some sort of scent or something, something that disturbed him so much he demanded that I come over."

"What could have possibly disturbed Pluto?"

"From what I could tell, he caught the scent of a Nobody-"

"What's a Nobody doing in Twilight Town?" Cloud asked. He was suddenly and acutely interested. "What the hell's a Nobody doing in Twilight Town? I thought they were all after Sora."

"Or so we thought," King Mickey said. "I have a feeling they're quite interested in the fact that a Princess of Heart's in Twilight Town as of now. Well, if it was the Organization in the first place."

"What? It's not the Organization?" Cid demanded, spitting out his toothpick and looking at the king of Disney critically. "Then what did Pluto pick up?"

"A rogue, then," Tifa suggested. "We're talking about a rogue."

King Mickey tapped his chin thoughtfully. "Yeah…that could be it-"

He immediately stopped talking.

"Your Majesty?" Yuffie prodded. "Is something wrong?"

"No, he's just thought of something," Aerith explained. "A rogue Nobody…there's really only two we know of, unless another Nobody broke away from the Organization for reasons we haven't begun to understand."

"No, no, no…" Cloud said, shaking his head. "No Nobody in the Organization would leave. That's suicide."

"Definitely suicide. They're not all that stupid," Leon added. "There's only one we know of who left the Organization and he only did so because he found out his other half was out there. He left at his own risk, too, if anyone remembers. They had the keys to open Kingdom Hearts and the next thing they knew, he's gone off to complete Sora, their worst nightmare."

King Mickey listened, knew Leon was right. Then what was it Pluto was so worried over? The Organization, as far as he knew, wasn't stupid. Well…except for that one fellow named Demyx. A complete idiot if there ever was one-

"Cid?"

"Yessir, Your Majesty?"

"Once a Nobody merges with it's other half, can it come back?"

"Your Majesty, I'm no scientist, I can't answer your question."

"I don't get it," Yuffie whined. "Your Majesty, what are you talking about?"

"I have no idea," King Mickey admitted. He sighed, then started walking towards the gates of the reviving town. Leon and Cloud stepped aside to open up a way for him out of the circle of people.

"Your Majesty?" Aerith called out.

"I…I have some things to attend to," King Mickey said. "I have to go back to Twilight Town. I have a feeling something is going to happen. Perhaps it's something obvious…or in the future. Cause and effect. Cause and effect…"

They watched him walk to the gate and push them open. He disappeared behind them.

Leon, Cloud, Aerith, Yuffie, Cid, and Tifa all looked at each other. General confusion spun in circles all around them.

"What _was_ that all about anyways?" Yuffie demanded crossly. "I don't get it."

Cloud looked at Leon, who shrugged.

"Whatever."

**X X X**

**Author's Endnote:** If you want questions regarding this story answered, please go to my LiveJournal. If you want answers to my other story, check my Bio page for the Freewebs address.

Comments, questions, compliments, etc. accepted. Flamers flame at your own risk. You have been warned.

Arigatou goziamas'!


	25. Feel

**Author's Note:** Here's part II of this week's update. I think you'll appreciate this chapter more.

**Disclaimer:** The characters, settings, and back story are copyrighted by Square-Enix and Disney. The storyline and original characters are mine. Stole the chapter title from another song, but you'll have to guess which.

**X X X**

**A Walk In Andante**

**25 – Feel **

Sunsets were beautiful here. Sunset Hill was always the best place to watch sunsets in Twilight Town. Every time he sat there, his eyes fixed on the horizon, he felt a sense of thrill as the colors shifted with the hour.

Roxas looked down at the streets far below his feet, his eyes picking out the tiny dots moving up and down the streets. A train shrilled as it churned out of the train station. Roxas turned his head and watched it march on its tracks to somewhere in the distance.

He sighed and looked down at the last piece of starfruit. He wished he had more. It had a pleasant taste that brought to mind swimming pools, summer days, and piña coladas. The spices sprinkled on it made it taste even better. Too bad he didn't have enough munny.

"I really need the get a job," he sighed when the bulging face of the landlord loomed up in his mind, then looked up at the dark twilit sky. "I wonder…"

Stars. Bright pinpricks of light shining in the dark blue canvas. And there was that moon, the glowing white disk in the sky.

But it was only in dreams. He wished he could see the stars with his own eyes. Roxas closed his eyes, tried to remember the stars.

Have the residents of Twilight Town ever wondered about the stars in the sky? Have they ever seen stardust in the black night? Or were they simply blissful with the twilight they live in, the colors of the sunset?

Roxas shook his head and looked at the last piece of starfruit. He studied it for a moment, once again wished he had more, then pulled it apart in half.

"Hey."

He turned around, saw Kairi leaning against the wall of the clock tower. She was smiling softly, her face glowing in the light of the sunset. Streaks of color bathed her. She pulled her bangs back behind her ear as the winds above the city swirled around the high-rising building.

"Hey," he returned quietly, wondering a bit how she knew he'd be there. "What are you doing here?"

She shrugged. "Don't know. Just decided to come up here."

She started towards him, then sat down on the ledge next to him. She stared off into the sunset and he followed her gaze, saw the faint glimmer of the beach bordering an edge of Twilight Town and the glow on the tops of buildings.

For a few minutes, the whistling wind filled in for them.

"So beautiful up here," she finally said.

"Yeah, I know…" Roxas agreed, his eyes pulled back to her happily peaceful face. "So beautiful…"

He then looked down at whatever was left of the piece of fruit in his hands and sighed. Kairi leaned over slightly and asked, "What's that?"

He looked at her. "Fruit I bought earlier. Do you want some?"

Kairi stared at the pale yellow piece with the light brown dusting in his hands. "What kind of fruit is it?"

Roxas smiled. "I'm not playing the name game, Kairi. Just try it."

"Why, most people don't eat it?"

"Guess they don't. Hayner really likes it, though. Went to the marketplace twice looking for it. Well, then again he does like tropical fruit."

"This is tropical?"

"Yeah."

"But not a banana."

"No, definitely not. I don't like those anyways."

"Yeah, I don't, either…unless they're in smoothies."

"Well, I have to agree with you on that one."

Kairi giggled, then held out her hand. "Okay, gimme. I wanna try it."

Roxas reached over and she took it. She looked at it, studied it with a rather quizzical look on her face, then raised it to her lips and took a small bite out of it. Roxas watched her, wondered if she was going to like it. He looked down at the remaining piece, then bit into it as well.

Silence and the wind filled in for what conversation failed to take place while they sat there and finished off the last of the starfruit Roxas had bought earlier in the day. At times he wondered why neither of them said anything but then Roxas knew they didn't need to talk at all. Did they?

"Roxas?"

He looked at her, at the faraway look on her face. He found himself rather…mesmerized, drawn to her soft smile.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

He felt the smile imprint on him. "Your welcome."

Then she suddenly leaned over and hugged him. Roxas looked at Kairi as she pressed her forehead against his shoulder, was suddenly acutely conscious of her arms around his shoulders. He felt content at the human touch, smiled as he touched the ends of her hair.

"Kairi?" he asked.

"Just…thank you, Roxas," she murmured. "Thanks for everything."

There was a pang inside him, a dreadful feeling.

"Are you-are you leaving already?"

"No, silly. I'm just saying, "Thank you". You realize I never got a chance to tell you that in your face for all you've done for me?"

"You-you don't need to…"

She was practically rubbing her face against his shirt sleeve, like only a cat would. "Can you…can you walk me back to Olette's place?"

"Scared?"

"Depends. Remember what other people said?"

"About those strangers?"

"I don't want to run into one of them, especially if they really have business with the both of us. Don't you agree?"

Roxas shrugged. "As long as they don't mess with us, nothing'll happen. If you let me go, Kairi, we can go to Olette's."

"Oh…sorry," Kairi said rather sheepishly, then pulled back. Roxas touched his shoulder then looked at Kairi, saw her busily looking at some smokestacks in the far distance. Then she turned her head to her feet dangling off the side of the clock tower, was swinging her legs back and forth. Something seemed to be bothering her.

"Kairi, what's wrong?" Roxas asked. He reached over and touched her hand, which was resting on her lap. She looked at him and he saw something in her eyes, a troubled look.

"I was just…thinking. That's all. That's all…"

He had a feeling it was about what he was saying earlier today.

"Is it me?" he asked softly. He wrapped his fingers around her slim palm, held it tightly. "Was it…was it what I said today?"

Kairi shook her head for a moment, then nodded. "You made me think…about things. About…whether or not there's any point in all this at all."

She looked at him. "I don't know what you've been through, Roxas. I really want to know. Why won't you tell me? I want to…I want to know where your words are coming from. I want to know what you mean. Why won't you…say anything?"

Her voice was pleading, raining guilt upon his ears. Roxas hesitated, then hesitated again, while his mind tried to imagine how a conversation would carry out if he tried to explain to her his origins. His past. His connection to Sora. Sora.

_Do you really want to know why I don't want to talk about it, Kairi? Do you want to know why I won't talk about my past? I hate it! It's worse than living, being a Nobody. You feel worthless, pointless, stripped of what others around you have. You walk down a street and while you don't look any different you act different. You have to study how other people react to certain things in order to be more like them. I loathed Sora, and yet I always wanted to meet him. I thought it was over when I went back to him but here I am and I met you. I met you and now I don't want to go back. I have no desire anymore._

_I don't know what to do, Kairi. What do I do with you? I'm the darker half of Sora, the angry dark side of him you'll never see. You'll never see that side of him. It's the side you've never seen, never met, and if you do meet it, see it, it'll be Sora. It'll never be me._

He just couldn't bring himself to say it. He couldn't understand why he couldn't just come clean with his past but he knew if he tried to explain it now, it'll destroy everything between them. He would have betrayed Kairi. And everything between would have been destroyed.

He didn't know why he didn't introduce himself as Sora's Nobody when he first met her, after he had destroyed all the Neo-Shadows that had attacked her and his friends at the sandlot. He knew who she was – Naminé had accused him rightly of watching her a few days after he suddenly found himself in Twilight Town – but he didn't introduce himself the way he thought he would. He pretended Sora had never existed in his life and the similarity of appearance between them was sheer coincidence.

And that was what she believed. That was until she started questioning his past.

"Roxas?"

He pulled back into reality, slipped out of his thoughts, and his eyes focused on Kairi's face. Her oval face, with the soft expressive blue eyes, the slight blush on her cheeks, her rose-pink lips. The auburn bangs swept over the right side of her face, now burning in the light of Twilight Town's sky, reflecting the beautiful sunset. A slight wind was beginning to blow and it ran its long transparent fingers through her long hair, tossing it into the evening breeze. She pulled her hair back, pressed it against her neck, and looked elsewhere. She bit her lip; her face had gone darker, a darker shade of red. He felt her hand tense.

He didn't say anything. Roxas didn't need the words, knew she was feeling uncomfortable now, with his silence and his stares. He wondered if what he said earlier made her think about Sora, about what she was doing right now. Did she ever wonder if she was betraying Sora, doing things behind his back, for instance? Or did she realize that it was her choice, that she chose to befriend someone who looked like Sora but wasn't like him at all?

_Befriend. We're friends_. It sounded so incredibly wrong in his mind but it just wouldn't click, his mind just wouldn't pinpoint _why_. He looked at her more closely, and suddenly that label had slipped away and now she was a stranger. Someone new, someone different. _A beautiful stranger._

Roxas reached over and his fingers, trembling slightly, touched the side of her face. He felt warmth, exquisite living warmth, and he nearly pulled back, was suddenly fearful.

_What am I doing? What the hell am I doing? Is this-is this wrong? Or…is this what I…what I want? Is this what I want? What…she wants?_

Gently he turned her head towards him. She stared at him, looked at him in astonishment. He knew she didn't expect this from him, but he didn't either. He had no idea what he was doing. And it frightened him. It scared him so much.

He shook but he didn't pull away. He leaned forward even more, cupped the side of her face in his hand. She looked at him, seemed to be warily watching him, but then she slowly closed her eyes and pressed against his hand. The heat, the warmth, the life he felt caressing the palm of his hand stunned him.

The human touch was an amazing thing.

He could feel her breath against his hand, the slight movement of her lips as she took a deep breath and opened her eyes. She was watching him, but he no longer squirmed under the steady blue gaze. Then she raised her right hand and covered the back of his hand, the one caressing her face. Then the hand slid down and she reached over, hesitantly touched his face. He felt her fingers slide along the length of his jaw line, sensed the slight pressure of her fingertips. He felt cold and hot all over and his body shook with each touch, each caress.

For a moment all was still. Even the wind had died.

Then he pulled away, broke the connection. Her hand slid away, too, left behind a sensation he couldn't define with words. Roxas took a deep breath, dared himself to look at Kairi. She was touching her face, where his hand was. Her eyes were fixed on her knees. She was flushing bright sunset red.

A train whistled. He looked up at the sky, feeling flustered and hot. He rubbed at his face as he stared at the darkening firmament. It was time to go.

Roxas slowly rose to his feet, then reached over and touched her shoulder. She jolted under his hand, then looked up at him.

"Let's go," he whispered.

She nodded and pushed herself up onto her feet. Roxas hesitated, contemplated for only a moment, then took her hand in his. He pulled her close to him, then led her into the clock tower and all the way down to where the trains were.

It took only a few minutes, at least seven, to reach to the residential district, where Olette lived. The whole way Kairi held onto his hand, oftentimes tracing circles on the back of it with her free hand. Roxas looked at her, then at the few people around them. Most weren't paying attention but there were a few watching them, watching, smiling, and nodding. They seemed to understand something. And for some reason, he understood, too. He didn't know what it was but a sense of contentment settling deep in his mind told him there was no reason to question them. No reason at all.

She never let go, when they stepped off the train and left the train station. She held on as they walked down the streets, meandering slowly under the glow of the twilit sky. Roxas wondered if they were walking slowly on purpose. Then his mind turned on itself and told him to stop wondering.

_Don't think so constantly about the 'why'. Just think about the 'now'._

He kept an eye on her the whole way, couldn't help himself but watch her, the peaceful smile on her face. And as he watched he realized he no longer felt that crazy twisting feeling in his gut, the nervousness that nearly drove him mad at times. He felt a warm and pleasant hum deep inside him, something completely different from everything he has been experiencing the last several weeks.

He felt peaceful for once. Utter peace. Utter content. No worries. No stress. No questioning. Nothing else. Not even nothing.

He hadn't felt this way before. There was never a time when he never felt the ceaseless worrying, the anxiety, the sense of loss that plagued him for long. They all died away. Being with Kairi drove away them all.

He wished he could thank her for that. Roxas wanted to tell her that her presence made him feel this way. But he wasn't sure how to tell her that. He felt rather awkward, and when he tried to open his mouth, nothing came out. He realized that maybe he didn't have to say anything at all.

And then he had a strange feeling that if he did try to say anything, something could happen. This rhythm, this continuum, could break. And he didn't want that to happen.

For now, Roxas finally decided, he'll keep quiet. He'll keep quiet and enjoy what peace they had. Together.

**X X X**

**Author's Endnote:** If you want questions regarding this story answered, please go to my LiveJournal. If you want answers to my other story, check my Bio page for the Freewebs address.

Comments, questions, compliments, etc. accepted. Flamers flame at your own risk. You have been warned.

Arigatou goziamas'!


	26. No Promises

**Author's Note:** The plot thickens!

**Disclaimer:** The characters, settings, and back story are copyrighted by Square-Enix and Disney. The storyline and original characters are mine. Stole the chapter title from an amazing, beautiful song by this guy, Shayne Ward. Also using the song in this chapter; find it and listen to it. It's recommended.

**X X X**

**A Walk In Andante**

**26 – No Promises **

_He was falling. He felt the wind rush upwards through his hair, shoving and pulling at his pants, fussing with the ends of his jacket, as he fell through the dark air. He opened his eyes, just a crack, and saw nothing but the darkness. He'd been here before, when his memories were awakened with the help of Naminé, when he first began to remember everything._

_So why was he here again?_

_Gravity shifted. He felt his body rotate, until he was slowly sinking feet first into the nothingness. Until he slowed to the point he knew he was about to land. Just like before._

_Except when his feet touched solid ground, white light erupted in his face. Roxas cried out and threw his arms out to block the blinding light. His eyes were adjusted to the darkness, not this intensity that burned his pupils._

_And suddenly the world shifted focus. Everything seemed to rush up in a fury of wind and light. Roxas grimaced against the force, felt his whole body tense, as if ready for battle, ready for the unknown and the unexpected. But then the force died away and he was left standing…somewhere._

_He slowly lowered his arms, hesitantly opened his eyes. Then he was staring, shocked beyond belief at what he was staring at._

_The sky seemed overcast but not in dank grays. It seemed to glow softly, casting an aura of angelic light upon the field of flowers before his very eyes. The more he stared at the flowers, the more he was able to see that these flowers were white, too, white and in the shape of stars. Perfect little stars. They bloomed from dark green stems with broad leaves. They were…unfamiliar._

_And they were knee-high._

_Roxas looked behind him, saw the flower field stretch out behind him into the misty haze. All around him was the flower field, endless and tranquil. Roxas didn't know whether to panic or glare at them in disgust; he preferred the stained glass to this any day, any night, any dream, he was sure. Flowers? Where the hell was this place?_

But I'm dreaming_, he knew quite well. _And in dreams…anything can happen.

_He's said it before, didn't he? When he was on the shores of Destiny Islands with that unnamed girl, he told her that dreams would lead them to anywhere. Because in dreams, anything was possible. Everything was limitless. There were no rules, no boundaries, nothing to dictate the way dreams presented themselves to the dreamers._

_Even if it killed them._

I love you.

_Roxas sighed, pressed his hand against his face. He huffed, blew his bangs out of his eyes, and contemplated whether to remove his hood. He didn't like the heavy weight of the black coat on his head but then he decided it was better to keep it on. There was at least one permanent rule in dreams, one law that all dreams obey without question._

_If you change one thing, you change everything._

_Roxas wasn't sure if he was willing to do that._

_He slowly stepped forward, pushing his way through the flowers. His fingers brushed by them, as a sweet-smelling scent rose from these earthly white stars. Roxas looked up at the sky, could see that it was changing color. It was no longer a haunting white emptiness. There was some blue. It was starting to look like an actual sky. He hoped it didn't go awry, too._

_At one point he stopped to bend down and finger the flowers. He watched as his hand, sheathed in black, reach out tentatively and caress one particular star and its snowy petals. Then he slid his hand down the stem and deftly snapped it. He rose to his feet, the broken stem and the flower in his fingers, and studied the shape of the star._

_Was there some meaning to this place? The night shores of that unfamiliar tropical island were one thing, but this…this haven, this…sanctuary…what was this place?_

_Roxas looked up and ahead, and stopped thinking altogether. His eyes darted in to the form kneeling amongst the flowers, a slender person gazing at something close at hand. He stared at the person, transfixed, then his feet started moving, carrying him towards that person without question._

_The unnamed girl. _

_He swallowed, stopped as he felt something hot rush up his face and all the way down to his toes. No, more than the heat. There was something else, something rushing through his limbs, under his skin, in his veins. It came and went, came and went, came and went, a steady rush, a pulling and pushing that nearly sent him to his knees. He pressed his hand against his chest, pushed against the sensation, but it would not go away. The aching was long gone; he could barely remember when the emptiness poisoned his thoughts._

_He looked down at the white flower, at the delicate veins inlayed in the snowy petals, then up to find the unnamed girl. The one he confessed his love to._

Why do I love you? You don't know me, and I don't know you, but I love you. I don't even know what these words mean, I don't know how people like you define 'love' but I feel for you. I feel like I've known you forever. Like…like we're forever connected. Eternity. I'll know you for eternity. But what is eternity?

_Roxas clenched the flower's stem in his hand, but kept himself from snapping it. He swallowed again, felt the heat pulsing through his face. Pulsing. Coming and going, again and again. He tried to push away the feeling but it would not go._

_She was still there, her whole body bowed down sorrowfully. The long tall flowers were swaying to an unheard song yet there was no wind. Her short auburn hair tousled slightly and her necklace dangled and swung from her neck. She was holding petals in her hands, little white stars. They seemed to glow brightly in her palms._

_He opened his mouth but no words came. His throat was dry, clenched. The pace was faster, faster, weakening him. He felt so loose of limb, like his world was about to fall apart. _

_No, his world had already collapsed at his feet. This was all that was left of it. An endless field of starry flowers against a pale blue sky edged in white puffs. And the unnamed girl, with her sad blue eyes that spoke so much to him._

Hey baby, when we are together  
Doing things that we love  
Every time that you're near I feel like I'm in heaven,  
Feeling high  
I don't want to let go, girl  
I just need you to know, girl

_He stepped forward again, one foot forward, then another. His hands were trembling and he clenched tightly, but not too tightly. The flower. He could not crush the flower. No, never._

I would…but not now. Not here. No longer. Not ever. Nevermore.

_He came to a slow stop before her. She was still kneeling amongst the flowers, her face shrouded by her red hair. In her cupped hands were three white stars. Three soft white flowers._

_Roxas slowly lowered himself, knelt down in front of her. He pulled the ends of his black coat behind him as he shifted on his feet and leaned forward. He reached out with the hand that held the flower, until the bowed head of the white flower was brushing the palm of her left hand. She didn't move. He didn't see her move. He pushed the flower forward an inch or two, then let go of the stem. The flower balanced in her hands, glowing more strongly amongst its brethren._

_He didn't pull back. His hand, now free of the flower, touched the back of her hand, gently slid back and forth across the pale smooth skin. She trembled and the flowers changed position._

I don't wanna run away, baby  
You're the one I need tonight  
No promises  
Baby, now I need to hold you tight  
I just wanna die in your arms

_He opened his mouth again but no words came. He closed them tightly, tried to figure out what to do, how to draw her out of the little shell she had hidden herself in. He wanted her to look up and see him._

_Or maybe he had to do that himself._

Please look at me. Please. I love you. You hear me? I love you. I've said it before, remember? I know I can't…but I do. I love you. Please…eyes on me. Please…

Here tonight

_He bit his lip, then pulled away from her hand. He reached up and brushed against the ends of her short red hair. They swayed under his touch and the fiery color emboldened him. He pulled his hand back, then tugged off the black glove with his teeth. He tossed the glove aside, then stared at his hand, no larger than hers and far paler than she was._

_He tentatively touched her hair, brushed it with the back of his index finger, felt the cool silkiness of it against his bare skin. Then he slid his hand through the red locks, until he touched her face, the humming life under the skin._

Hey baby, when we are together  
Doing things that we love  
Every time you're near I feel like I'm in heaven  
Feeling high  
I don't want to let go, girl  
I just need you to know, girl

_His fingers skimmed down the side of her face, followed the jaw line, until he was sure he met her chin. He stroked her face with his thumb gently, then raised her face up, until they were eye to eye, face to face._

_She was crying. One tear after another rolled down the side of her face, her blue eyes cloaked in shiny salty liquid. Her bottom lip was trembling. He reached over with his other hand – still gloved – and pressed his thumb against her lip, traced the contours of it. She tried to look away, clenching her teeth, trying not to cry._

"_It's okay," he murmured, his voice spilling forth softly. "Cry."_

_She shook her head. "N-no…you don't under…understand…"_

_She closed her eyes tightly and a tear slid down. Then she took a deep, shaky breath. "Why? Why did you…why did you say that?"_

"_Say what?" _

"_Say that you…you love me?" she whispered, her voice lost among the flowers. "You said you love me. Why?"_

"_Because…because I do."_

I don't wanna run away, baby  
You're the one I need tonight  
No promises  
Baby, now I need to hold you tight  
I just wanna die in your arms

"_Why?" she asked. She was shaking. "Why-"_

"_I love you," he murmured, felt release as the three words slipped through his lips. "I love you. I don't know why, and I know I'm not supposed to, but I love you. I love you…"_

_He leaned over, slowly, closed his eyes just moments before his lips touched hers. He had seen her close her eyes, too, knew she was waiting for it. He was waiting for it, too._

I don't wanna run away  
I want to stay forever  
Through time and time  
No promises

_He pulled off the glove on his left hand with his right, then cupped her face with both hands, pulling her to him. He pressed his mouth against hers, felt something hot and possessive growing within him as he pulled her even closer. Then he felt her hands slide against his face under his hood, then down to his neck. Her hands were cool but they left a trail of fire._

_She murmured something. It was sensuous, feeling her lips move against his. He had no idea what she was saying, wasn't even sure if it was important or not._

_It was the here. The now._

I don't wanna run away  
I don't wanna be alone  
No promises  
Baby, now I need to hold you tight  
Now and forever  
My love

_He pulled back, drew away from her tantalizing lips. She looked at him, watched him through lidded eyes. He brushed back her short bangs, caressed her face, felt the pulsing inside him, heard it. It was now crashing against his eardrums, a violent pounding he couldn't get rid of._

"_Do we need to know?" she whispered._

_She was talking about their identities._

"_No," he murmured as he pressed his forehead against hers. "No…we don't."_

"_If only," she murmured, then he felt her lean in and kiss him._

No promises

_Her hands slid to the back of his neck, then pulled him towards her. He let her, sank into her, wrapping himself in her warmth, her heady sweet flavor. He turned his head slightly, captured her lips with his, then entered her mouth. Again, he wanted to taste her again. He wanted to feel her forever._

_He was faintly aware that he was pushing against her, didn't realize she was pulling him down with her, until he was lying on top of her, kissing her with the fire that was raging in his chest._

I don't wanna run away, baby  
You're the one I need tonight  
No promises  
Baby, now I need to hold you tight  
I just wanna die in your arms

_She wrapped her arms around him, ran her hands up and down his back, sending shivers through his body. He slowly pulled away from her mouth, kissed her cheek, then her jaw line, then her neck. She let out a shaky sigh as he found the need to wander around her neck, his mouth skimming across the smooth skin and the energy underneath it._

_Then his mouth found a little hollow, down at the base of her neck and heard her whisper something, perhaps nothing, just a series of sounds, as he turned his head slightly to press his lips against it. Then he skimmed her collarbone, to what he knew was the most sensitive part of her – her shoulder. There was something about her shoulder, the smoothness and the warmth that drew him to it. Then he felt her lips pressing against the side of his face under his bangs, the murmuring that never made it to his ear coherently. It was the rush of her voice that he heard, a beautiful sound._

"…_I love you…"_

_Did she say it? He wasn't sure if she said it because that's what he whispered into her ear as he left her shoulder and pulled back. He looked down at her, saw the slight smile on her face as she looked up at him. Her hair spread out over the dark green stems and leaves of the white flowers, a vibrant passionate contrast to the earthy calmness of the field of flowers._

_She lifted a hand, touched the side of his face, then his lips. Her index finger gently traced his upper lip, then his bottom lip, then drifted to his nose, up the nose bridge, to his forehead. She stroked his forehead, then pulled her hand away._

"_I wish…" she murmured, as he lowered his head and kissed her on the nose. "I wish I could see your face."_

"_You know the one rule of dreams."_

"_I know. But I wish."_

"_So do I."_

I don't wanna run away, baby  
You're the only one I need tonight  
No promises  
Baby, now I need to hold you tight  
I just wanna die in your arms  
Here tonight

_And if she did push his hood back, then what would happen? How would the dynamics of the dream change? He didn't want it to change, no. _

_He rolled off of her, lay down next to her and pushed back the long stems of the flowers. He looked up at the sky, at the hints of light sky blue, then turned his head to look at her. She was staring up at the sky, too._

"_I wish this could last forever," he heard her murmur softly. "I wish I never had to go back."_

_What a curious thing to say._

"_What do you fear?" he asked._

_She turned her head and looked at him. "When I wake up, I'll be back in reality. And there…I don't know how to explain it. I…"_

_She fell silent, then sighed._

"_I wish this was real. I wish…this wasn't a dream. You know how hard it is…to love? I thought it was so easy, I thought…that there were these rules, these guidelines…I don't know what they are. I can't name them. But I always felt that they were there, that you'll fall in love…and you'll always be in love."_

"_Love? I don't know what love is," Roxas whispered. "I don't know…"_

"_But you said-"_

"_Because they just came out of my mouth. It was the one thing that felt so right, the only way to phrase what I felt. What I'm feeling. For me, all these…emotions…I can't see them. I can't…comprehend them. But…when I feel, I feel. And I follow the feelings, the emotions, the intuition. Rules? There are no rules. There is only one rule and that there is love."_

_She smiled. "If only it were that simple."_

_He sat up slowly, looked down at her, at her form sprawled across the ground, with the white star flowers hanging over her. He reached over to one just above her head, touched the silkiness of the petals._

"_Nothing's simple."_

"_I know. That's why…that's why I want to stay here forever. In the real world…the waking world…I'm so naïve, so blind, so…stupid. I'm such an idiot…I've been waiting so long for someone I thought I loved. He loved me…and I loved him, too. But then…in the midst of my dreams, you came. And you…you changed everything."_

"_You love someone who exists only in dreams," Roxas said softly. "How can I change everything?"_

_Perhaps there were limitations to dreams, too._

"_I…I'm…" She sighed, closed her eyes. He looked at her, was struck by how lost she seemed, so lost and sweet and sad. _

"_Dreams, they are so limitless. You can change them with just one little difference, a willful shift in your surroundings. But they're only dreams. They're not real. They're never real. If…if we were ever to meet…this won't be the person you'll find. This-this person…it's not me. It's only a dream of me."_

_She opened her eyes. "No…no, you're real. You're out there, aren't you? You're out there somewhere, beyond this-this dream. A real person."_

"_No. This is only a dream."_

"_You're real. You're out there. And we-we're connected. This dream connects us." Her eyes were beginning to take on a new color, a new life. The blue was blazing. She sat up quickly, looked at him square in the face. "Where are you before you dream? Let me find you. We are real people. We know this is a dream. Don't you see? We both know these are dreams we're experiencing…but we're ourselves within them. We're real people."_

_Roxas quickly shook his head. "No, this is just a dream. I don't know what kind of tricks my mind plays on me but you have to understand this. This is a dream. I don't know how real you are or I am, but this is a dream. Virtual reality. I-"_

_Virtual reality._

"Don't play dumb with me, Roxas. I know you're not an idiot. Make it easy for the both of us. Do you remember anything from the past?"

_Naminé. Then the reality came rushing in._

_He jumped to his feet. His eyes were transfixed on the horizon, where the flowers faded into the sky._

_Virtual reality. Lies. They were all lies._

_Not again. No. No!_

"_No!" he shouted, stumbling backwards and nearly falling over. "No, not again! Not again!"_

_He saw, out of the corner of his eye, her stand up quickly. She looked shocked, surprised at his sudden outburst. She took a step forward but he backed away._

"_No, stay away from me," he hissed. Virtual reality. "You're a lie."_

"_What?" she asked, astonished beyond belief. "What?"_

"_A lie. You're a lie," he repeated. It all made sense. "You're a lie. Everything's a lie."_

"_What are you talking about?" she demanded, her voice straining. He could hear her voice rising in a crescendo, until it was but the height of the steel's sound. She was already going hoarse. "I'm not a lie! I'm real!"_

"_No, you're a lie. All lies. Those-those times we met…they were all lies. This is all a virtual reality. Nothing's real. Dreams are lies. They lie to us, give us false hope. No, it's all lies!" he shouted. He looked around wildly, tried to see if there was some way to escape this._

_Not again, not again. He's been through this before. He won't go through it again._

"_Wait, please!" she cried out. Her eyes were shiny and a tear slid down her face. She stepped forward again and reached out to him. "Please, talk to me! Tell me what's going on-"_

"_Don't touch me!" he yelled. "Don't touch me!"_

_Roxas backed up quickly, didn't look as he crushed the flowers under his feet. A sweet scent rose in the air but he pushed it aside. This was not the time for one of his senses to pick up something so fake, so false._

"_Dreams hide us from reality," he hissed. "But in the end it's reality that wins!"_

_The fear was real. It cloaked him and he wanted it off. He had to get out of here. He had to leave this field of flowers._

"_Wait…" he heard her sob as he turned and began to walk somewhere, towards the horizon, away from here. "What's wrong with you? Do you really think these are all lies?"_

Don't listen to her. Don't get your hopes up. This is a dream, and the dream is not real. This is a virtual reality. This is a lie. Keep going. Don't look back.

"_Do your emotions lie to you?"_

_He stopped. No, he hadn't thought of it before, didn't consider his emotions. Emotions…the human emotion, the human capacity for concepts beyond understanding, far removed from the cold rhetoric of language and logic._

_Eros. The irrational, the incomprehensible._

"_Do they lie to you?" she gasped out between sobs. He could hear the pain in her voice and clenched his fists, tried to keep away, tried not to turn around and run to her. "Do your emotions lie to you? Were you lying when…when you said you loved me?"_

_He closed his eyes and clenched his teeth just as tightly. It was all a dream, he knew. All a dream. He was falling in love with someone from his dreams. He was gaining a human emotion in his dreams, a human ability that was accessible only with a heart._

"_I have no heart," he whispered. "Therefore…I cannot feel. Therefore…whatever I'm feeling…it's a lie. It's all a lie. This virtual reality has to end."_

"_N-no heart?" she stammered. "What do you mean-you can't-"_

No, I'm not heartless, I'm not a Heartless. But I have no heart. I lied to you. I'm sorry.

_He took a step forward, then another, and another. And then his feet were moving, quickly. He was running, running fast and hard. He had to get out of there. He ran through the flower field, ran to the haze between land and sky. Ran to the place in between._

"_Wait!" he heard her cry. "I-"_

_There was something beyond the haze. A burning white light. Perhaps that was his escape. He ran faster._

"_I love you!"_

_And the ground dropped out from underneath him. He fell._

Roxas sat up, gasping for air. He looked around wildly, then scrambled over to the wall and flung open the window. A frigid night breeze blasted in his face and he turned away. The sweat trickling down his face evaporated, leaving him more chilled than ever. He didn't burrow under his blankets, though; they were soaking through with sweat as well.

Roxas pulled himself to the edge of his bed, set his feet on the solid floor, stared at his feet as he tried to restrain his breathing. He felt like he was just sprinting, felt like he was running and running and running and running…

Heat. It came and went. A steady drumming in his ears, in irregular tandem with every shallow breath he took. Roxas swallowed, then wiped at his forehead. He felt so in shock; he had yet to create a coherent thought-

His stomach twisted viciously and a wave of nausea sent him reeling. Roxas staggered to his feet, swallowed again, but another wave hit, this time so violently he knew he was in trouble. Roxas bolted out of his room and to the one bathroom near the tiny kitchen. He shoved the door open, smashed the lights on, and practically dove to the porcelain maw of the toilet. The next thing he knew he was heaving up his dinner, then pure watery acid, then nothing. He tried to stop, tried to keep the reflexes from trying to turn his stomach inside out, but he couldn't.

The pain was excruciating; again and again something rammed into his stomach, forcing him to vomit nothing but stale air from inside him. His eyes watered as his body continued to try and rid of something that simply wasn't there.

At length the spasms died away and Roxas found himself silently staring at the contents of his stomach for the past six hours or so. He just sat there, leaning over the porcelain bowl, just staring. It took him a long while before the smells and the sights finally drove him to quickly flush everything down.

A horrid dry feeling remained in his mouth, dry and with the remains of the contents lingering on his tongue. Blanching, Roxas forced himself to his feet, then staggered to the sink, where he turned on the faucet and scooped up mouthful after mouthful of fresh water. He swished the mouthful around and spit it back into the sink, then leaned forward and splashed his face, to get rid of the layers of sticky sweat.

He leaned there, his arms bracing him against the sink. Water dripped from his face as he found the sound of his breathing amplified a hundred-fold or so. Roxas closed his eyes, then opened them again.

His breathing was matching something. An inner drum.

Roxas shook his head, then turned off the faucet and grabbed his little worn orange towel. He rubbed his face with it, then his hair, and hung it back on its pathetic plastic towel rung.

Roxas sighed as he switched the lights off and slowly walked out of the bathroom. He shuffled his way to the couch in the living room, walking awkwardly as his clothes were all still soaking in cold sweat, and sank into the cheap but useful furniture. He stared up at the ceiling, then sighed and closed his eyes.

_The beautiful field of flowers, with perfect star-shaped white flowers._

Like that starfruit he ate, the one he ended up sharing with Kairi-

It was back. The drummer. Roxas shook his head, then pressed his hand against his left temple, tried to ignore the annoying, incessant pounding in his ear. But it wouldn't go away.

"Leave me alone," he whispered. "Damn it, just leave me alone…"

He never felt so drained before. Were dreams supposed to do that to you? Were they supposed to taunt you, make you believe in a lie, then slam the truth in your face so hard you end up leaning over the toilet, vomiting up your stomach?

"My god…" he groaned, rubbed his face. "What…what happened?"

"_I love you!"_

He said it to her before, when he thought he lost her forever to that one stranger. And now she returned the favor…except it was too late. She returned it when it was over, when it became apparent that everything was a lie. A damn lie.

But there was some truth in the conversation that took place. That the dream was an escape from a reality neither of them apparently wanted to face. He didn't know the unnamed girl's story, but he knew his.

He really liked Kairi. It was obvious to everyone, even himself. He knew he liked her more than he'd let on, the way she smiled and laughed and talked. The life inside her, the will to learn to fight, the mind that at times seemed naïve and yet so damn wise. Her presence comforted him in ways he couldn't comprehend, and he found himself treasuring every second he had with her. And whenever she wasn't there and he thought about her, he would get this warm pleasant feeling spreading all over him from the gut, a kind of happiness that, for someone like him, would not just be bizarre but inconceivable.

And her presence quelled the other side of him, the anger that he had hidden. Until now. Today he began to let it go, let the other side loose onto the field. And now…that dream…oh gods, that dream…

Roxas clenched his teeth in utter frustration as he remembered the anger he felt when he realized that the dream was a lie. And the regret, the pain as he continued distancing himself from that one girl, that one person he loved like he never did anybody else. That one person that he held so close to him, that one person that was a lie.

_Traces of this human emotion are making me fall in love with a being in my dreams. Why? Why is my mind doing this to me? Why?_

What was his mind trying to tell him? What was his dream trying to convey?

The clock tower began its hourly toll. He listened attentively to it. Three times. Three in the morning. He should get back to bed.

Roxas sighed, then slowly laid himself down length-wise on the couch. He pulled a couch pillow to him, held it close, found himself remembering that girl, that unnamed girl as he held her in his arms.

And then there was Kairi, whenever he held her, whenever she held him. His nose picked up a faint trace of a smell in the pillow, then remembered that she slept here once, after they returned to his apartment from that one café and sat up deep into the night talking about nothing and everything. Nearly everything. Strange, that he could immediately pick out her scent from the usual smell of fabric, along with the mix of other bodies.

Roxas closed his eyes, held the pillow tightly. He remembered the warmth of her body, the humming of the life under the skin, the smooth, cool silkiness of her hair as he ran his fingers through it…

_I don't want to dream of her anymore. I can't stand it anymore. The pain is too much, too much. I can't…I can't bear this anymore. Please, let it be over with. I want this to end. No more, no more…_

All he knew, as he found himself drifting off to blissful sleep, was that something was going to happen.

Whether or not it was good or bad he wouldn't know.

**X X X**

**Author's Endnote:** Wow, we're almost at the part where you guys are all going to hate me. Forever. _Shit!_

Comments, questions, compliments, etc. accepted. Flamers flame at your own risk. You have been warned.

The next chapter will be updated on Tuesday because it's extremely short, and the chapter after that at the usual time.

Arigatou goziamas'!


	27. Whispers in the Night

**Author's Note:** I suppose I have to be honest with you: I'm having a serious writer's block and it's on the verge of escalating into a full-blown hiatus, even with all the pages I had written down regarding the story. Wish me luck and enjoy another addition to the actual storyline.

**Disclaimer:** The characters, settings, and back story are copyrighted by Square-Enix and Disney. The storyline and original characters are mine.

**X X X**

**A Walk In Andante**

**27 – Whispers in the Night**

Three in the morning. Three chimes. Fuu sighed, then put away the book she was reading. She's done it again. She's got herself so caught up in that book on martial arts that she's way overdue for sleep.

"Again…" she mumbled as she closed the book and placed it quietly on her desk. Then she reached over and switched off the lamp that had been previously bent over the book like she was, shining brightly on each page as she read and turned them.

But seconds later, Fuu turned the light back on. She turned to her drawer, briefly contemplated it, then opened the very bottom drawer, the one that was crammed with 'stuff'. She called it 'stuff', even wrote out in marker on it 'Stuff'. It was filled with random newspaper clippings, torn notebook pages, pieces of seashells from the beach, and other little trinkets. There were even a few seeds from a pomegranate. She was sure that's what the fruit was.

She reached in and pulled out a hefty pile of newspaper clippings. Most of them involved Setzer, who was the perennial champion of Struggle Tournaments. Once in a while she'd find a mention of Seifer or Rai or Vivi. Once in while she'll find something about herself. And then once in a while she'll find a mention of other people, names sometimes familiar and sometimes foreign. Sometimes she'd find Hayner. Sometimes she'd find some kid named Sakusen. Sometimes a young man named Gregory. Sometimes a middle-aged man by the name of Norman. That one shopkeeper. Her teacher. Some girl younger than her. Really random people, from the plausible to the ridiculous.

Except for that one clipping, that one tiny clipping with an even tinier photograph. This was a special clipping. Fuu kept it flat and neat and mostly clear of other newspaper clippings. She even put white paper before it and after it, to keep all other things from disturbing it.

She was quite embarrassed, actually, that she should have this little clipping and that she not only hid it from others' eyes, she protected it. The thing was she didn't know how she got this clipping. She went to bed one day and the next day she went straight to the drawer of 'stuff', where she found it placed on top of all her other clippings and trinkets. She wasn't sure how she could have forgotten about finding this newspaper clipping but it didn't matter; she had it.

Fuu sighed and looked at the clipping, at the tiny photo. She read the tiny title, skimmed through the tiny article, then smiled slightly. She put the clipping back in, with its white paper wrapping, amongst the other clippings, and carefully maneuvered the whole pile back into her drawer of 'stuff'. Then she pushed it close, switched off the lamp light and went to bed.

''

The sky was clouding. The dim twilight was fast giving way to storm clouds. Few people were aware of the coming rain; they remained fast asleep where they may be, be it in an apartment in the residential area, the bench at the shopping district, on the steps leading up to the train station, or in the alley under the cover of a half-rotten cardboard box.

The air was stirring. It was growing colder.

There was no life out in the streets, no one to greet the unusual development in weather. They were all wrapped up in their dreams, in the warmth of their beds, in the arms of another person. King Mickey, who was hiding out in an alley in the shopping district, was fast asleep with Pluto by his side.

And from the shadows of high buildings stepped forward someone shrouded in a cloak, a cloak made of such material that the edges blended into the night. The figure was hard to make out, hard to define, and in this darkness, in the shadows, the person was nigh invisible.

The hooded head turned right and left, then nodded once. From one end of the street came a tall slender being in a long coat and a wide-brimmed hat. With each rapid step came the precise click of the thin heel.

From the other end came someone in a long coat and a high collar. Hands in pockets, the broad-shouldered person approached, each step muffled by the soles of the shoes. Every now and then, though, the buckles across the person's chest rattled.

They converged at the place the cloaked person was standing.

"It is yet there. It has been touched by no one but her."

"The magic will work as long as we leave it there. Once we remove it, the magic will die. They will all disappear."

"We can't guarantee that they will come back. However, we must continue with the plans. The time is nearing."

"So much power…does anybody know?"

"The wizard may but he knows not to speak of such matters. They are dangerous and could upset what other people have so carefully constructed over the last several years."

"Pity they weren't able to stop the holocaust when it came."

"That's why we're here. We must set things right, or else it will be all for nothing."

"No, it won't be. We will get things right. Everything is in place. We simply need to push the right buttons, then step back. And when the time is right, we'll step in again. It will be flawless. The holocaust will never come."

"Because it will be _us_ who will let loose the holocaust."

"Yes…"

"Return to your stations. The time is near. Good luck."

Abruptly the three people vanished. They didn't fade into thin air; they just disappeared. They were never there.

King Mickey slowly pushed the flattened cardboard box off of Pluto and him and peeked out of the shadows of the garbage cans he was hiding behind with the dog. Nobody was there. King Mickey looked at Pluto and nodded.

While Pluto scampered ahead, his mouth firmly clamped on a white envelope, King Mickey stepped out of the shadows of the alley, then onto the street. He looked around, found no traces of the three mysterious people.

_Who are they? What do they…what were they talking about? What holocaust?_

**X X X**

**Author's Endnote:** It turns out I had more material before an abrupt change in the story, but I was unhappy with the order of chapters anyways so we'll see.

Comments, questions, compliments, etc. accepted. Flamers flame at your own risk. You have been warned.

Just wondering but if I were to write something involving _Eyes On Me_, would you approve of it?

Arigatou goziamas'!


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